§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the transfer of responsibility for post 16 education from Coventry city council to the Learning and Skills Council; and for what reason an additional £1.5 million has been taken away from the SSA grant. [28887]
§ Margaret Hodge[holding answer 23 January 2002)The Learning and Skills Council will begin funding LEAs for the provision delivered in their school sixth-forms from April. LEAs will continue to pass funds to schools and retain their wider responsibilities for sixth-forms.
716WThe overall amount of funding that we have transferred to the LSC is £1.35 billion for 2002–03. This represents our best estimate of the likely funding for school sixth-forms in that year, taking into account growth in pupil numbers and in funding per pupil. The LSC issued provisional allocations for 2002–03 to LEAs and schools in December. These include funds for both mainstream sixth-forms and for post-16 pupils with special needs. The provisional allocation for Coventry was £11.8 million, of which almost £1 million was for provision for pupils with statements of SEN.
Data on pupil numbers and qualifications taken from the September 2001 pupil count have been used to calculate funding levels for mainstream school sixth-forms under the LSC's formula. A higher proportion of schools than originally expected are being funded under the formula. For around two-thirds of sixth-forms it generates higher levels of funding than their underpinning real terms guarantee. The pattern in Coventry is broadly in line with this national picture.
The total amount of funding passing to an LEA from the LSC for school sixth-forms will be matched by a deduction from their Education SSA. The allocations will be confirmed shortly.