The Education Reform(Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Further and higher education funding schemes

Schemes for financing by boards of further and higher education

106.—(1) It shall be the duty of every board to prepare a scheme in accordance with this Part and submit it for the approval of the Department in accordance with Article 107.

(2) The scheme shall provide for—

(a) the determination in respect of each financial year of the board, for each institution of further education situated in the area of the board, of the share to be appropriated for that institution in that year of the further and higher education budget of the board for that year (referred to in this Part, in relation to such an institution, as the institution’s budget share); and

(b) the delegation by the board of the management of an institution’s budget share for any year to the governing body of the institution.

(3) The scheme shall also set out the principles and procedures to be applied by the board in planning the educational provision to be made by institutions of further education situated in the area of the board (in this Part referred to as institutions covered by the scheme).

(4) In this Part—

(a) references to an institution in respect of which financial delegation is required for any financial year under a scheme under this Article are references to an institution managed by a governing body to which the board concerned is for the time being required by or under the scheme to delegate the management of the institution’s budget share for that year (and the governing body of such an institution is said to have a right to a delegated budget for the year);

(b) references to an institution which has a delegated budget are references to an institution managed by a governing body to which a board has for the time being delegated the management of the institution’s budget share for any financial year in pursuance of such a scheme.

(5) The Department may by order substitute for references in this Part to a financial year references to such other period as may be specified in the order.

Preparation and imposition of further and higher education funding schemes

107.—(1) A scheme prepared by a board under Article 106 shall be submitted to the Department on or before such date as the Department may direct.

(2) In preparing a scheme under that Article, a board shall take into account any guidance given by the Department as to the provisions it regards as appropriate for inclusion in any such scheme.

(3) The Department shall publish any guidance given by it for the purposes of this Article in such manner as it thinks fit.

(4) Before preparing such a scheme a board shall consult the governing body of every institution of further education situated in the area of the board.

(5) The Department may request a board to furnish such information in connection with any scheme submitted to the Department as the Department may require, including information as to the results of consultations under paragraph (4).

(6) Such a scheme shall not come into operation until it has been approved by the Department or until such date as the Department may, in giving its approval, specify; and the Department may approve such a scheme—

(a) either without modifications or with such modifications as it thinks fit after consulting the board concerned; and

(b) subject to such conditions as it may specify in giving its approval.

(7) If in the case of any board either—

(a) the board fails to submit a scheme as required by paragraph (1); or

(b) it appears to the Department that a scheme submitted by the board as required by that paragraph does not accord with any guidance given by it for the purposes of this Article and cannot be made to do so merely by modifying it,

the Department may, after consulting the board and such other persons as it thinks fit, impose a scheme making such provision of a description required to be made by a scheme under Article 106 in the case of that board as it considers appropriate.

(8) A scheme imposed by the Department by virtue of paragraph (7)—

(a) shall be treated as if made under Article 106 by the board concerned; and

(b) shall come into operation on such date as may be specified in the scheme.

Replacement and variation of further and higher education funding schemes

108.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Article, a scheme may be replaced or varied by a subsequent scheme made under Article 106 by the board concerned.

(2) Article 106 shall apply for the purposes of a scheme replacing or varying a previous scheme with the omission of paragraph (1), and, subject to paragraph (5), Article 107(2) to (6) shall also apply for those purposes.

(3) A scheme prepared by a board under Article 106 which—

(a) replaces a previous scheme; or

(b) makes any significant variation of a previous scheme,

shall be submitted to the Department for its approval.

(4) A scheme under Article 106 varying a previous scheme which is not required by paragraph (3)(b) to be submitted to the Department for its approval is referred to in this Article as a “minor variation scheme”.

(5) Paragraphs (4) to (6) of Article 107 shall not apply in relation to a minor variation scheme and such a scheme shall come into operation on such date as is specified in the scheme.

(6) The Department may give directions specifying what descriptions of variation are to be regarded as significant for the purposes of paragraph (3)(b).

(7) Where a board proposes to make a scheme under Article 106 which in its opinion is a minor variation scheme, the board shall notify the Department in writing of its proposal, giving brief particulars of the nature of the variations proposed to be made by the scheme.

(8) In any such case the board shall, if so required by the Department before the end of the period of two months beginning with the date on which it receives notification under paragraph (7) of the board’s proposal, send to the Department a copy of the board’s proposed scheme; and it shall be for the Department to determine whether or not any variation proposed to be made by the scheme falls within any description of variation specified in directions under paragraph (6).

(9) A scheme made under Article 106 may also be varied by a direction given by the Department, as from such date as may be specified in the direction.

(10) Before giving such a direction the Department shall consult the board concerned and such other persons as it thinks fit.

Delegation to governing body of management of institution’s budget share

109.—(1) This Article applies where in the case of any board the board’s financial provision for institutions of further education situated in its area is subject to regulation by a scheme.

(2) Subject to Article 117(6), it shall be the duty of the board in the case of each such institution to put at the disposal of the governing body of the institution in respect of each financial year a sum equal to the institution’s budget share for that year to be spent for the purposes of the institution.

(3) The times at which, and the manner in which, any such sum is put at the disposal of the governing body of an institution shall be such as may be provided by or under the scheme.

(4) A board may not in any financial year delegate to the governing body of an institution of further education covered by the scheme the power to spend any sum appropriated by the board for the purposes of the institution in that year otherwise than as required under the scheme.

(5) Subject to Article 117(7), the governing body of any institution which has a delegated budget—

(a) shall be entitled, subject to any provision made by or under the scheme, to spend any sum made available to it in respect of the institution’s budget share for any financial year as it thinks fit for the purposes of the institution; and

(b) may delegate to the principal, to such extent as may be permitted by or under the scheme and subject to any provision of the articles of government of the institution, its power under sub-paragraph (a) in relation to any part of that sum.

(6) The members of the governing body of an institution shall not incur any personal liability in respect of anything done in good faith in the exercise or purported exercise of any power under paragraph (5).

Further and higher education funding schemes: determination of budget shares

110.—(1) The provision to be included in a scheme for determining the budget share for any financial year of each institution of further education covered by the scheme in that year shall require that share to be determined (and from time to time revised) by the application of a formula laid down by the scheme for the purpose of dividing among all such institutions so much of the board’s further and higher education budget for that year as is appropriated by the board for allocation in accordance with the scheme among those institutions.

(2) In this Article “formula” includes methods, principles and rules of any description, however expressed.

(3) The formula laid down by a scheme in accordance with paragraph (1)—

(a) shall include provision for taking into account, in the case of each institution covered by the scheme in any financial year, the student numbers allocated to that institution under the scheme for that year; and

(b) may include provision for taking into account any other factors affecting the needs of individual institutions which are subject to variation from institution to institution.

(4) The student numbers allocated to any institution under a scheme for any financial year shall be determined (and may from time to time be revised) in such manner as may be provided by the scheme.

(5) A scheme must provide for all amounts and student numbers relevant to the determination of an institution’s budget share under the scheme for any financial year to be determined initially before the beginning of that year.

Further and higher education funding schemes: provision for financial delegation

111.—(1) A scheme shall include provision for requiring, in the case of each institution of further education covered by the scheme in any financial year, the delegation by the board concerned to the governing body of the institution of the management of the institution’s budget share for that year.

(2) References in this Part to the delegation requirement under any scheme are references to any provision included in the scheme by virtue of paragraph (1).

(3) Where a new institution of further education is established, the delegation requirement under the scheme covering that institution shall not apply in relation to that institution until such date as may be specified in the scheme in relation to that institution.

(4) Any delegation by a board under a scheme to the governing body of any institution of the management of the institution’s budget share for any financial year shall be subject to such conditions as may be imposed by or under the scheme.

(5) Conditions so imposed may (in particular) relate to the application of the whole of the budget share of any institution or of any part of the budget share of any institution determined by or under the scheme, and different conditions may be imposed in relation to any parts so determined.

(6) In imposing conditions under a scheme a board shall take into account any guidance given by the Department as to the conditions it regards as appropriate for imposition under a scheme.

(7) The Department shall publish any guidance given by it under paragraph (6) in such manner as it thinks fit.

Publication of further and higher education funding schemes

112.  A scheme shall be published in such manner as may be directed by the Department—

(a) on its coming into operation; and

(b) on such subsequent occasions as may be so directed.

Publication of financial statements

113.—(1) This Article applies where in the case of any board the board’s financial provision for institutions of further education situated in its area is subject to regulation by a scheme.

(2) Before the beginning of each financial year, the board shall prepare a statement containing—

(a) such information as to the operation of the scheme; and

(b) such information as to the financial provision it plans to make in that year for institutions of further education situated in its area,

as the Department may direct.

(3) After the end of each financial year the board shall prepare a statement containing such information with respect to—

(a) expenditure actually incurred in that year for the purposes of all institutions covered by the scheme; and

(b) expenditure so incurred which was incurred, or is treated by the board as having been incurred, for the purposes of each such institution,

as the Department may direct.

(4) A statement prepared under this Article shall be prepared in such form, and published in such manner and at such times, as the Department may direct.

(5) The board shall furnish the governing body of each institution of further education covered by the scheme in any financial year with a copy of each statement prepared by the board under this Article in relation to that year.

(6) The governing body of each such institution shall secure that a copy of any such statement furnished to it under this Article is available for inspection (at all reasonable times and free of charge) at the institution.