Schools Finance - Section 251 Annual Budget Statement

Introduction

We as a council are required (under Section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009) to prepare and submit an education and children's social care budget statement no later than 31 March 2011 for the prescribed period covering 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 set by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families.

Regulatory provisions directly affecting the education content of these Budget Statements are also made in the School Finance (England) Regulations 2008 and the School Finance (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2010. 

Purpose of financial statements

It is a statutory duty that all Local Authorities must publish their budget statements as and when set out by the Secretary of State for Children's Schools and Families. The size of the Schools Budget and the amounts to be allocated to each factor depend on budget decisions taken by the Local Authority before the prescribed period, so budget statements are the means that we have of informing schools and the public in general about the funding plans of the Local Authority.

The copy of the statement that schools receive for that period is intended to provide a clear picture of the authority's planned spending: 

• how much the Local Authority intends to spend on the Local Authority Budget outside the Schools Budget and other children's services;
• how much the Local Authority is proposing to retain centrally within the Schools Budget for school services;
• how the local formula is working to produce budget shares for each school in the Local Authority's area.

It is important that schools forums and others can compare funding and methodology between different Local Authorities, so as to inform debate about budget levels and such issues as the balance of funding between early years, primary (reception +), secondary, and special schools. It is therefore essential that all statements are prepared to a common format.

Table 1 - Local Authority Level information provides an overall picture of the funding being allocated direct to schools, the amount being spent on education centrally and the amount being spent on children's social care. Also included in this table are columns to assess the amount of funding that is being targeted to deprivation.

Table 2 - School level information summary, summaries the main formula funding elements and lists the budget share and the per pupil or place share in each school. Also included in this table is a row to provide additional information to show the amount of funding that is being targeted to deprivation.

The columns to assess the amount of funding that is being targeted to deprivation through each factor is in support of the commitment in the White Paper: Your Child, your schools, our future: building a 21st century schools system that 100% of funding provided to support deprived pupils will reach those pupils by the end of the next parliament.

Please find a copies of this years and last years Manchester Local Authority Section 251 budget report to download.

Central Expenditure Limit Table 2011/12: This table is designed to demonstrate that the Local Authority is complying with the limit on increases in central expenditure within the Schools Budget.

For further information on Section251 please call : Education finance team on 0161 234 7084, or email finance4schools@manchester.gov.uk