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Written question asked by Baroness Sharp of Guildford (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 3 December 2015, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 17 December 2015. It was answered by Lord Nash (Conservative) on Thursday, 17 December 2015 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Academies: Finance

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the main expenditure estimates of July for the Department for Education, what is the breakdown of the £4 billion budget line "other" currently assigned to Education Funding Agency funding of academy schools.

Answer

We refer to both the £4 billion budget in the department’s Main Estimate, and the £1.6 billion of ‘other expenditure’ by the Education Funding Agency (EFA), identified in the July Memorandum to the Education Select Committee.

The £4 billion identified in the Main Estimate relates to the department’s £4.7 billion capital budget, of which £4,115,299 is paid out via the EFA. This capital investment enables local authorities to discharge their duties: to ensure that there are enough school places; to maintain the school estate; to undertake major replacement and refurbishment projects for schools in the worst condition through the Priority Schools Building Programmes; and to facilitate education reform through the Free Schools programme.

The Memorandum to the Education Select Committee provides a breakdown of expenditure within the Estimate Lines. The EFA’s major programme budget includes an ‘other’ heading that totals £1.6 billion. This heading groups together the smaller school’s programmes, including Universal Infant Free School Meals, Private Finance Initiative funding, Post-16 Free School Meals, Post-16 Bursary Fund, and Post-16 Learner Support.

The academy schools net expenditure totals £17 billion for programme and capital, the majority being for resource expenditure.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL4261
Session
2015-16
Subjects
Finance Academies Education Funding Agency
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk