Further Education Funding (Hansard, 7 February 1997)

§ Mr. Bryan Davies
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment on what date she received the Further Education Funding Council's claim for additional grant in aid for demand-led element enrolments for colleges exceeding their growth targets. [14625]

§ Mr. Paice
Further to my reply of 3 February,Official Report, column 460, the Department received the latest claim on 4 February.

§ Mr. Davies
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when she last made a statement on the availability of demand-led funding for colleges exceeding their growth targets. [14624]

§ Mr. Paice
On behalf of my right hon. Friend, I wrote to the Further Education Funding Council for England and 749W to all further education colleges in England about demand-led funding on 5 February. I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library.

§ Mr. Rooker
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much of the demand-led element of funding for further education has been used as core funding in the most recent financial year. [14698]

§ Mr. Paice
None. The £82 million additional grant in aid that the Department is making available in the current financial year to the Further Education Funding Council for England for it to pay colleges for demand-led funding is additional to the original provision for further education set out in the estimates for financial year 1996–97.

§ Mr. Rooker
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much of the demand-led element of funding for further education was consolidated into college targets for 1993–94. [14699]

§ Mr. Paice
Within the Department's planned provision for financial year 1993–94, the Department made available to the Further Education Funding Council for England £152,500,000 for demand-led funding including in college's enrolment targets.
Financial year 1993–94 was the first year of the sector's existence. During that year, £152,500,000 was paid to colleges for demand-led funding included in colleges' enrolment targets. This sum was found within the planned provision for further education and did not require additional resources.

§ Mr. Rooker
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment she has made of the effect on financial control in further education of moving college accounting to a year end of 31 July while maintaining a year end of 31 March for her Department's transfers to the funding council; and if she will make a statement on how the demand-led element of funding is affected by using two different year end dates. [14700]

§ Mr. Paice
Further education colleges have used a 1 August to 31 July financial year since the creation of the further education sector, with the exception of its first financial year which ran from 1 April 1993 to 31 July 1994. The Further Education Funding Council for England takes account of the difference in the Government and college financial years in determining its spending plans and in making payments to colleges. Demand-led funding is paid to colleges in February, April and July each year. The timing of those payments is not affected by the year end dates and I have made it clear to all colleges that demand-led payments due to them for contractual commitments for the academic year 1996–97 entered into on or before 28 January 1997 will be made under existing arrangements.

§ Mr. Rooker
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if the vote incorporating the demand-led element of further education funding is cash limited. [14701]

§ Mr. Paice
The vote incorporating the demand-led element of further education funding is not cash limited.