§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to use the actual costs incurred by schools in delivering education to their pupils as the principal determinant of the distribution of funding to local education authorities; and if he will make a statement. [76263]
§ Mr. RaynsfordFunding will be distributed to Local Education Authorities in 2003–04 on the basis of a per-pupil amount plus top-ups for additional educational needs and area costs. The per-pupil amount will be determined by deducting the top-ups from the overall sum available and our aim will be to judge the right balance between these elements.