§ Mr. JackTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will(a) list the criteria that were used to determine which authorities should receive additional transitional funding for 2004–05, (b) set out the basis on which the amounts were calculated and (c) make a statement on why Lancashire did not receive an allocation of these monies. [136890]
§ Mr. MilibandDetails of the transitional support package for 2004–05, including details of the formula for calculating which local education authorities will be eligible, will be published at the time of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this month.
On 29 October the Government published indicative figures for the targeted grant in 2004–05, which have been placed in the Library of the House. These assumed that grant would be available to authorities whose increase in Education Formula Spending and relevant DfES grant between 2002–03 and 2004–05 would otherwise be less than 12 per cent. per pupil. The increase in Lancashire LEA is expected to be above 12 per cent. per pupil over the relevant period, which means it would not be eligible for the targeted grant.
However, if Lancashire or any other LEA is able to put forward a compelling case that additional, transitional funds are needed in the short term—above and beyond those already available to the LEA–my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be prepared to consider bringing forward grant payments from my Department, so that the LEA will have funds available in 2004–05 for this purpose, with the expectation of a consequential reduction to what they will receive in future years. The maximum amount that might be made available in this way would be £300,000 per authority, or 0.2 per cent. of the authority's total education resources in 2004–05, if that is higher. For Lancashire, 0.2 per cent. of its education resources would be over –1.2 million.
§ Mr. Ian TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the indicative allocation of targeted transitional grant 2004–05 is for Surrey. [137525]
§ Mr. MilibandMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced, in his statement to the House on 29 October, that targeted transitional grant will be made available to about one third of local education 87W authorities next year. so that the total increase in education resources for every authority, over the two year period between 2002–03 and 2004–05, will be a minimum of 12 per cent. per pupil.
Final allocations of targeted transitional grant will be announced at the time of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement. The indicative allocations published on 29 October made no allocation to Surrey, whose total increase in education resources between 2002–03 and 2004–05 was estimated to be above 12 per cent. per pupil. A list of indicative allocations has been placed in the Library of the House.