Correspondence

ESFA Update local authorities: 15 November 2023

Updated 16 November 2023

Applies to England

1. Reminder: 2022 to 2023 National Tutoring Programme grant (NTP) recoveries

Last week, we emailed all schools that received the 2022/23 NTP grant to confirm whether we will recover any funding.

This week we are emailing all local authorities, including virtual school heads.

Emails are sent from tutoring.updates@service.education.gov.uk using the email addresses provided when your organisation completed the year-end statement, or contact details from Get Information about Schools for schools that didn’t submit the form. 

If you have not received an email, please contact us as soon as possible.

As set out in the grant conditions, we may recover funding based on what you told us in your year-end statement. If you did not complete the year-end statement, we will recover your full allocation.

2. Information: the latest edition of the planned local authority and school expenditure has been published

The latest edition of Planned LA and school expenditure was released on 28 September 2023. This release relates to the 2023 to 2024 financial year.

Key findings from this edition include:

1. Total planned net expenditure on education and children’s and young people’s services is £72.2 billion, this consists of:
   • £57.8 billion for schools
   • £3 billion for other education and community
   • £11.4 billion for children’s and young people’s services
2. Of the planned £57.8 billion spend on schools:
   • £46.7 billion is for individual school budgets
   • £2 billion is for high needs place funding
   • £9.1 billion is for other services, for example, top-up funding, behavioural support, special educational needs (SEN) support, and educational welfare

3. The total planned net expenditure on the other education and community budget for 2023 to 2024 is £3 billion

4. Total net planned expenditure on children’s and young people’s services for 2023 to 2024 is £11.4 billion; 53.7% of this spend is for looked after children

Section 251 benchmarking tables for the 2023 to 2024 financial year have also been published.

The tables enable local authorities to compare their planned expenditure per capita on education and children’s services with that of other local authorities.

3. Information: Risk Protection Arrangement 2024 to 2025 price confirmation

The cost of the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) is reviewed annually to ensure breadth of cover and value for money are balanced. We can confirm that the RPA deduction for 2024/25 will be £25 per pupil:

• from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 for local authority maintained schools (LAMS)
• from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025 for academies

Members don’t need to take any action as your 2024 to 2025 membership will renew automatically on 1 April 2024 for LAMS and 1 September 2024 for academies at the new price of £25 per pupil. Where members take the decision to leave the RPA, you will need to provide 3 months’ notice prior to the end of your membership year by contacting RPA.DFE@education.gov.uk.   

The RPA continues to offer excellent value for money and all schools classified as public sector schools can join – sign up and join today. If you have any questions or would like more information, contact RPA.DFE@education.gov.uk

If you are looking to review your insurance, check out the benefits of RPA membership in our latest blog post on the Buying for Schools blog.

4. Information: International Fraud Awareness Week

The 12th to 18th November is International Fraud Awareness Week.

The week-long campaign encourages business leaders and employees to proactively take steps to minimise the impact of fraud by promoting anti-fraud awareness and education.

In ESFA, we take our responsibility as guardians of public money seriously, having our Counter Fraud Strategy embedded throughout the agency.

Our strategy of ‘Prevent, Detect, Deter and Protect’ supports our key objectives; to minimise our fraud and error losses, maximise our prevention and detection and maximise our recoveries and redress.

The foundation of our strategy is to ‘Protect’, that is to protect ESFA, its assets, colleagues, the sector and ultimately the public purse, to give certainty, support and assurance that taxpayers money is used for its intended purpose. This means protecting every pound so that it is spent on education and skills, to have the greatest possible impact, ensuring all learners can realise their potential.

During the week, we encourage everyone to promote fraud awareness and have a conversation about the importance of countering fraud.

Information and resources can be found on the official International Fraud Awareness website.

For more information or if you would like the Counter Fraud Team to support you please contact: Counter.Fraud@education.gov.uk.

5. Information: are you looking to buy cleaning or catering services for your school?

If your cleaning or catering contract is coming up for renewal, there are several DfE approved frameworks offering a quick, simple and competitive route to buy.

The Schools Commercial team is hosting two free webinars with a focus on DfE approved cleaning and catering frameworks, to help you make an informed choice on the best deal for your school. Click on the links to find out more and book your place:

• Buying catering services for your school
• Buying cleaning services for your school

You can find the full programme of webinars for the remainder of the autumn term on the Autumn 2023 webinar page. Visit the page to find out more and book your place. 

6. Information: have you got your ticket for the Schools and Academies Show on 22 November?

It’s not too late to register and join the DfE Schools Commercial team at the Schools and Academies Show, Birmingham NEC on Wednesday 22 November.

The team will be hosting a 40-minute panel session at the show:

• 13:35 – 14:15: The power of School Business Professional networks when buying for your school or trust (Business and Finance theatre)

You can also speak directly to the team and join our mini sessions at the Government Education Village:

• 09:50 – 10:10: Crime, fire, and health and safety – things to consider in your school
• 10:20 – 10:40: Help, I’m not a procurement expert!

Registration is free for schools, multi-academy trusts and the wider public sector.

7. Information: apply for a free framed portrait of His Majesty The King

On 1 April 2023, the Cabinet Office issued a press release to announce a new scheme to allow public authorities across the UK to apply for a free, framed portrait of His Majesty the King to celebrate the new reign.

The Cabinet Office have now launched the voluntary government funded scheme.

Secondary schools, free schools, state funded special schools, non-maintained special schools and FE colleges are eligible for receiving a free portrait.  

The supplier organisation chosen to operate this scheme is Cubiquity Limited. Eligible settings can request their free portrait by using the supplier’s website. The deadline to request the free portrait is Friday 2 February 2024.

Please refer to the FAQ document for any specific questions about the portrait and the scheme itself.

Further details will be provided in due course for public bodies that do not fall within scope of the scheme but wish to purchase a portrait or any authorities who would like to purchase additional portraits.

Any queries relating to His Majesty The King’s portrait scheme should be directed to hmkportraitscheme@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.