Dedicated Schools Grant: 2020-21

Friday 20th December 2019 Written Statements

[The Minister for School Standards (Nick Gibb)]

Today I am confirming school and early years revenue funding allocations for 2020-21 through the dedicated schools grant (DSG), published yesterday. This follows a statement by the Secretary of State for Education on 3 September, which confirmed to Parliament that the funding for schools and high needs will, compared to 2019-20, rise by £2.6 billion for 2020-21, £4.8 billion for 2021-22, and £7.1 billion for 2022-23. That is on top of £1.5 billion we are providing each year to fund additional pensions costs for teachers, bringing the total schools budget to £52.2 billion in 2022-23.

The distribution of the DSG is set out in four blocks for each local authority: a schools block, a high-needs block, an early years block, and a central school services block. In October 2019 I informed Parliament of the publication of primary and secondary units of funding for the schools block, and provisional allocations for the high-needs block and central school services block. In the DSG, these have now been updated with the latest pupil numbers to show how much each local authority will receive in 2020-21. Today’s publication also provides initial 2020-21 allocations for the early years block, following the early years national funding formula rates for three and four-year-olds I confirmed in October.

Finally, I am confirming the Government’s commitment to level up school funding by ensuring that every secondary school receives at least £5,000 per pupil, and every primary school at least £3,750 per pupil in 2020-21. The DSG allocations provide for this additional funding, and today the Government have published their response to a consultation which finalises the arrangements local authorities must follow in delivering mandatory minimum per pupil levels to the relevant schools in their local area, thus delivering one of the key pledges given by the Prime Minister during the general election.

As well as supporting the lowest-funded schools, this change marks an important first step in our plans to implement a “hard” national funding formula, whereby schools receive what they attract through the national formula, rather than through different local authority funding formulae. We will consult on the further steps needed to deliver those plans in due course, and will work closely with local authorities and other stakeholders in making the transition carefully and smoothly.

[HCWS2]