Issue - meetings

Cabinet approved

1. Schools Block (detail in Appendix A3 of the report)

1. the Schools Block budget be set at £304.661m for 2022/23, as per Table 1 in the report.
2. £1.531m of the overall Schools Block DSG is transferred to the High Needs Block and earmarked to support the Education Transformation programme.
3. the basis for distributing the funding to mainstream schools be as set out and agreed by Schools.
4. the Growth Fund for established schools expanding in September 2022 be set at £2.0m (a component of the total Schools Block budget).

2. Central School Services Block (detail in Appendix A.2 of the report)

1. Following Schools Forum agreement, the Central School Services Block budget is set at £2.742m for 2022/23.

3. High Needs Block (detail in Appendix A2 of the report)

1. The High Needs Block budget be set at £77.054m for 2022/23 as per Appendix A2, after receiving transfers of £1.531m from Schools Block noting that this level of budget is estimated to lead to a cumulative deficit in the High Needs Block in the region of £41m by the end of March 2023.

4. Early Years Block (detail in Appendix A2 of the report)

1. the Early Years Block budget be set at £34.388m for 2022/23, noting that spend and DSG income will fluctuate, according to participation levels in each of the three school terms.
2. Funding for Early Years should be distributed in line with the arrangements explained in report to Schools Forum (Appendix A2).

Cabinet noted:

5. Overall position

1. the 2022-23 DSG overall allocation is £418.846m, an uplift of £13.257m or 3.3% from the previous year.
2. Education Service will continue to work with the Schools Forum and respective Task and Finish Groups (High Needs Task and Finish Group; Early Years Task and Finish Group) and via Transformation Programme to explore sustainable mitigation options to get back to affordable budget position over the medium term.