Section 7: school sixth form funding
47.Between June and October 1999, the Government consulted on two options in relation to recurrent LEA maintained school sixth form funding, as outlined in the consultation paper Learning to Succeed: school sixth form funding.
48.Following the consultation, the Government concluded that the LSC should fund LEAs for their sixth form provision. LEAs would continue to allocate funds to schools in their area, and would retain their power to provide additional funding to schools if they so wish. Following further consultation begun in January 2000, it was announced in May that these changes would be introduced from 2002-03. There will be further consultation in the autumn of 2000 on the details of how the changes will be implemented. The Government committed itself in the 1999 consultation paper to maintaining school sixth forms’ funding levels in real terms (where pupil numbers do not fall). The later announcements confirmed that this guarantee will operate on a baseline year of 2000-01. There are no plans to change the capital funding system in relation to schools sixth forms.
49.Section 7 secures the LSC’s power to fund LEAs in respect of their school sixth form provision, including (by virtue of regulations under section 46 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998) that made in non-maintained special schools and independent schools approved for the requirements of pupils with special educational needs. This is for recurrent funding not capital expenditure which by virtue of the regulations under section 46 of the 1998 Act is excluded from the local schools budget. No new primary legislation is required to facilitate the implementation of the new mechanisms for the distribution of recurrent funding from LEAs to school sixth forms; the necessary provisions are in the 1998 Act and regulations made under that Act.