§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total targeted transitional grant is that he expects to give to local education authorities; and whether this sum is additional to the total DFES support grant available for local education authorities. [139093]
§ Mr. MilibandIndicative allocations of targeted transitional grant for 2004–05 were published on 29 October: these totalled £120 million. Allocations for 2004–05 will be confirmed later this month. I expect to make around half the 2004–05 level of grant available nationally in 2005–06: details will be confirmed in due course. The transitional grant is additional to the funding for local education authorities which was announced following the Spending Review 2002.
In addition, if any local education authority 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 to each LEA 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.