§ Mr. TyrieTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how much of the schools damping grant allocated to West Sussex county council for 2003–04 is as a direct result of the education funding changes in 2003–04; [143866]
(2)if he will list the local education authorities that have had an increase in (a) schools damping grant and (b) local education authority damping grant for 2003–04; [143867]
(3)for how many years he will continue to provide schools damping for West Sussex county council at the 2003–04 rate. [143872]
§ Mr. MilibandThe Government introduced a new funding system for local authorities in 2003–04, replacing Standard Spending Assessments with Formula Spending Shares. In order to phase in the 973W distributional changes implied by the Education Formula Spending Shares, the Government introduced floors and ceilings arrangements for both the school and LEA funding blocks. All of the "damping" amounts within the school and LEA Formula Spending Shares are therefore attributable to the education funding changes in 2003–04. 2003–04 was the first year of this system within the Schools and LEA Formula Spending Shares and it is not therefore possible to calculate an increase in damping amount for 2003–04 over previous years.
These arrangements will continue for as long as necessary. The actual amount allocated will be determined year-on-year and announced at the provisional local government finance settlement.