RUNNING MY DEPARTMENT

HC Deb 19 December 2002 vol 396 cc72-5WS

I am determined to ensure that the Department for Education and Skills continues to look at ways it can become more efficient in the way it operates and remains at the forefront of public service reform. I am allocating £231/246/245 million to Departmental administration costs. In 2003–04, the Department will also use around £16 million of its accumulated end year flexibility for administration costs. In real terms this allocation represents a 1.7 per cent. reduction in my Department's administration costs between 2002–03 and 2005–06. Over the same period programme expenditure will increase by 17 per cent.in real terms. By 2005–06, for every additional £1 we spend on administration, we shall be spending an additional £500 on programmes.

I am allocating a further £29/35/32 million in programme funds to support evaluation, research, advertising, publicity, communications and ensuring the Department's services can be accessed on-line.

The table attached shows the full allocations I have made. It includes a number of other allocations to support school-age education, in particular for initial teacher training, Academies and City Technology Colleges, and the National College for School Leadership as well as small but important allocations to continue to develop the Connexions Card, to support joint work with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to foster creativity in schools and to encourage innovation in schools including through the development of Federations.

I will be vigilant in ensuring that these substantial resources for education and skills are used efficiently and effectively over the next three years and are applied in order to meet the ambitious targets we have set for children, young people and adults. If resources are not being used to best effect, I will not hesitate to ensure they are switched to where they are most needed, and will notify Parliament of any significant movements.

Allocation of DfES SR2002 settlement

£ millions
	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06
Total allocation1	49,632	53,039	57,965
Of which
Resource2	21,143	22,286	24,143
Capital	4,061	5,023	5,753
EFS	24,428	25,731	28,069

Breakdown of Allocation
Sure Start	850	1,223	1,510
Of which
Sure Start spending	734	1,005	1,299
Planned use of Sure Start EYF3	-203	-103	-129
Assumed spending through EFS	319	322	340

Schools allocations

31,597

33,492

35,984

Of which
EFS (excluding assumed spending on Sure Start	24,109	25,410	27,729
Schools Resource—Standards Fund	1,567	1,398	1,631
Schools Resource—Leadership Incentive Grant	175	175	175
Schools Resource—School Standards Grant	799	849	872
Schools Resource—Threshold and Performance Pay	742	844	0
Schools Resource—National College for School Leadership	77	87	92
Schools Resource—Academies and CTCs	126	184	245
Schools Resource—Innovation	10	10	10
Schools Resource—primary Modern Foreign Languages	4	8	10
Schools Resource—Creativity	5	5	10
Schools Resource—Initial Teacher Training4	345	375	415
Schools resource—Music and Dance Scheme	14	16	18
Schools Resource—Assisted Places Scheme	30	10	3
Schools Resource—Gifted and Talented5	8	8	8
Schools Resource—other Central spending	186	154	264
Leadership Reserve	0	50	100
Schools Capital—School Buildings6	3,016	3,487	3,959
Schools Capital—ICT	384	422	443

Skills	9,227	9,859	10,487
Of which
Learning and Skills Council Allocation7	7,923	8,496	9,074
Non LSC—Adult Skills
Prisoner education	85	110	125
Sector Skills Councils	42	45	48
RDA: Skills fund	43	43	43
Ufl	44	44	44
UK Online centres (inc capital)	14	20	28
Financial Support for Adults	66	106	106
Employer Training Pilots	130	0	0
Adult Basic Skills Development	76	76	76
Non LSC—adult skills (small programmes)	49	49	45
Union Learning Fund	11	11	11
Non LSC— Youth
Connexions Service8	455	500	515
Connexions Card	5	15	14
QCA	60	60	60
Youth Service disabled access	8	8	8
Millennium Volunteers	15	15	15
Non LSC—14[en rule]19 (small programmes)	89	100	98
Gap Year	5
Non LSC other
Non LSC [en rule]FE	78	130	147
International programmes	29	31	30

Other	7,958	8,464	9,984
Of which
Children's Fund	200	200	200
DfES admin. Costs and related spending9	260	281	277
OFSTED	203	206	215
Service Development Fund	0	0	500
Unallocated funds10	7,379	8,109	8,752
Behaviour—Post 14 Contribution11	17	17	40
Planned use of EYF3	-101	-349	0
Additional allocations12 PFI credits	850	1,050	1,200
Transfers to EFS for teacher pensions	590	610	640

¹ An additional £109 million from the Windfall Tax margin allocated in the 2002 Pre-Budget Report.

² Excluding capital grants (in the Capital Line) and money transferred to EFS.

³ Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Department plans to use accumulated End Year Flexibility to supplement the funds available from the SR2002 settlement.

⁴ Includes miscellaneous support costs.

⁵ Excludes Standards Fund Gifted and Talented programmes.

⁶ Excluding PFI credits.

⁷ These figures are lower than those published in the LSC's Grant Letter issued on 5 December. The Grant Letter figures include an element of the funds transferred for teachers pensions contributions and CMF funding which is allocated outside the SR settlement.

⁸ This figure includes provision for VAT.

⁹ Includes Departmental spending on research and central spending on advertising and publicity.

¹⁰ Includes Departmental unallocated provision, Higher Education Baselines and funding to be allocated for Higher Education.

¹¹ This contributes towards the total Behaviour package of £13411491186 million announced on 12 December as the remainder is funded through the standards fund and other budgets.

¹² Not included in figures above. Excludes Education Maintenance Allowances which are funded through AME.