Correspondence

ESFA Update academies: 24 August 2022

Published 24 August 2022

This correspondence was withdrawn on 27 December 2023

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Read the latest editions of ESFA Update for the latest news and information.

Applies to England

1. Information: Academy Trust Handbook 2022

We have published the Academy Trust Handbook 2022 – which comes into effect on 1 September 2022 – as a PDF available to download.

We are sorry that publication is later than in previous years – traditionally the handbook would be released in June. However, this year’s edition places no new requirements on trusts and we hope this will make implementation more straightforward for you.

We have summarised the changes to the 2022 edition on page 8 of the PDF. This includes new information about:

• financial reporting: confirming the withdrawal of the budget forecast return outturn (BFRO)
• special payments: clarifying that prior approval of staff severance payments only applies to ‘special’ (non-statutory/non-contractual) payments
• indemnities: confirming that trusts will be able to enter into indemnities which are in the normal course of business without seeking approval (further guidance to follow)
• religious character: extending the scope from dioceses to all religious authorities in relation to ‘at cost’

We will update the digital handbook to reflect the 2022 edition shortly.

2. Information: land and buildings collection tool (LBCT) 2022 – launch date and guidance updated

Due to exceptional circumstances, the land and buildings collection tool (LBCT) will not go live on 4 October 2022. We are not able to confirm a new date yet, though it is likely to be delayed by several weeks. We are working to establish and communicate a new date as a priority. We appreciate that this delay may disrupt your planning and we are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

In the meantime, and to help academy trusts plan for the completion of the return, the LBCT GOV.UK page has been updated for the 2022 collection. This includes the guidance document, the Excel workbook and guidance for diocesan users.

This year, academy trusts will be asked to tell us about any non-land and building leases in place at 31 August 2022. You can read more about this in the new non-land and building leases section of the guidance. You can also refer to the Excel workbook to familiarise yourself with the new requirements. In addition, there are some new questions for the following occupancy types: church lease, leasehold, licence and tenancy at will. These are clearly marked in the excel workbook.

Prior to the launch there will be a number of opportunities to find out more about the LBCT 2022 via various workshops, Q&A, and forums. These will be publicised on our LBCT GOV.UK page in due course.

3. Information: funding to help meet the cost of academy admission appeal panel hearings

Funding to help meet the costs of up to 20 appeal panel hearings is included in an academy’s budget. Academies can make a claim of £180 for each additional admission appeal panel hearing held in the academic year.

This only applies to academies and must be claimed by each establishment. It cannot be claimed by an academy trust. To make a claim you must submit an invoice with a covering letter which must be signed by the accounting officer, using the enquiry form.

The covering letter must include:

• the total number of admission appeal panel hearings held in the academic year
• the total number of hearings for which the academy wants to claim (the number above the 20)
• a statement that the claim is a true and fair one and that all information has been retained for audit purposes

The invoice must show the number of appeals the academy is claiming for, the academy bank details and that there is no VAT.

4. Information: National funding formula 2023 to 2024: COLLECT tables

The “COLLECT” tables for 2023 to 2024 are now available for schools to access. This follows the publication of the 2023 to 2024 national funding formula for schools and high needs and the pre-16 local authority guidance in July.

The tables allow schools to see the detail of how their NFF notional allocations for 2023 to 2024 have been calculated.

Schools can access the tables by signing in to DfE sign-in and selecting “COLLECT”. If you are unable to see your COLLECT reports, please consult the guidance that will be published within the next few days on national funding formula tables for schools and high needs: 2023 to 2024.

If you have questions about the numbers shown, please contact the ESFA enquiry service via the on-line form.

5. Reminder: important reminder for all RPA Members - have you met the conditions for RPA cyber cover?

To make sure your school is covered for Cyber Incidents we want to remind all RPA members that the following 4 conditions must be met:

1. Must have offline backups
2. All employees or Governors who have access to the Member’s information technology system must undertake NCSC Cyber Security Training
3. Must register with Police CyberAlarm
4. Must have a Cyber Response Plan in place

For more information, see the Cyber Guidance note.

Full terms and conditions of the cyber cover can be found in the Membership Rules.

If you have any questions or would like more information, contact: RPA.DFE@education.gov.uk.

6. Your feedback: HMT consultation on new administrative controls process and changes to the Special Severance Payments (SSP) process across Central Government

HMT published their consultation on the new administrative controls process and changes to the special severance payments process on 8 August 2022. It will run for 10 weeks, with the closing deadline of 17 October 2022.

These processes are intended to apply to all bodies that are classified as ‘Central Government’ and/or bodies that do not have a specific right to make exit payments as set out in their Framework Document, Articles of Association, Board Terms of Reference or elsewhere – this includes academy trusts.

As these changes were initiated and led by HMT, any feedback must be provided via the consultation. HMT would welcome views from any interested parties on the proposed guidance and whether it meets the policy intent, is clear and operational.

Key consultation points:

• a new control process that will require any exit (contractual or otherwise) which exceeds £95,000 in cost to have Ministerial sign off from the Secretary of State responsible for the workforce, or the Cabinet Office minister for Civil Service Compensation Scheme workforces
• amendments to the current special severance process, the threshold for Chief Secretary to the Treasury approval has been reduced to £95k (from £100k) and a section on exit payment recovery has been included. This means that to agree a special severance payment, bodies will also need to demonstrate that they have considered whether it is appropriate to include a repayment clause so that part of the payment can be recovered under specific circumstances