Correspondence

ESFA Update local authorities: 29 March 2023

Published 29 March 2023

Applies to England

1. Information: adult funding allocations for the 2023 to 2024 funding year

This week, we will issue allocations for the 2023 to 2024 funding year. These will include:

• ESFA funded adult education budget including National Skills Fund level 3 adult offer
• Advanced learner loan facilities and bursaries

A published timeline is available so that you know when to expect information from us and technical guidance will be updated alongside your allocation to explain how we have calculated your allocation.

We will not include 16 to 24 traineeships or AEB contract for services (procured from August 2021) allocations in March. These will be communicated in July 2023 so we can use the latest data available prior to 1 August to reflect most learners that started prior 31 July 2023. It is therefore important that you return accurate ILR data for the remainder of the academic year.

Please make sure you have access to Manage your education and skills funding so that you can view your allocation statement. You can request a new role through the Identity and Access Management Service or by asking your organisation’s super user.

Contract authorisers and/or managers will receive an email confirming when your allocation statement is available to view.

2. Information: update to the high needs funding 2023 to 2024 operational guidance

We have updated the high needs funding: 2023 to 2024 operational guidance.

The changes to the guidance are:

• update on the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan
• links to the 2023 School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations
• updated 16 to 19 national funding rate
• 2022 to 2023 (academic year) in-year growth criteria (element 1 and element 2) for post 16 education
• additional information and guidance references about high needs place and dedicated schools grant deductions for new special and alternative provision free schools

The guidance provides a summary of key dates and actions for local authorities and educational providers, including how the 2023 to 2024 financial and academic year high needs funding system should operate for all types of educational provision. As this guidance is applicable to schools and colleges now, it should be considered with immediate effect.

3. Information: consistent financial reporting framework for 2023 to 2024 is now published

We have published the consistent financial reporting framework 2023 to 2024.

The framework provides guidance for schools on collecting information about their income and expenditure by financial year.

4. Information: 16 to 19 funding guidance for academic year 2023 to 2024

We have published the 16 to 19 rates and formula and 16 to 19 funding regulations guidance today for academic year 2023 to 2024.

Please read the what’s new sections in the guides first. These explain what we’ve changed for the new academic year. We’ve listed some of these changes here:

• increases to the national funding rates for study programmes and T Levels
• changes to programme cost weightings
• clarification on calculating the disadvantage block 2 factor for 14 to 16 year old direct funded students
• information on the updated baseline calculation for advanced maths premium
• updates to capacity and delivery fund (CDF) with information on the providers who are eligible
• we are not funding new starts on traineeships after 31 July 2023, and have updated the traineeships section to reflect this. We will fund continuing traineeship programmes according to the guidance
• confirmation that those coming to UK as foreign tourists are ineligible for 16 to 19 funding
• confirmation that the condition of funding requirements now also applies to students undertaking T Levels

5. Information: 2023 to 2024 student financial support scheme guides

The student financial support scheme guides set out the funding rules for the different schemes. They are reviewed and updated each year and we have recently published the guides for the 2023 to 2024 academic year for:

• 16 to 19 Bursary Fund
• Free meals in further education
• Residential Bursary Fund
• Residential Support Scheme

We ask that institutions review the updated guides and remind themselves of the funding rules which apply to each scheme to ensure they understand them, and their processes reflect them, including audit requirements.

The free meals in further education guide explains that the end date for transitional protections has now been extended further until March 2025. This is when we expect Universal Credit roll-out to be complete for most cohorts.

For the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund, institutions must remember that they should not award any student a fixed or flat rate of funding without assessing the actual needs the student has. The guide includes a checklist institutions can use when administering the bursary fund.

6. Information: updates to adult education budget (AEB) guidance for 2022 to 2023

We have published updates to AEB guidance this week as follows:

Version 2 of the AEB funding rates and formula 2022 to 2023

• we’ve added information on how the earnings boost (as announced in ESFA Update on 1 March 2023) will work for the year 2022 to 2023, including some worked examples

AEB funding and performance management rules 2022 to 2023

• we’ve updated the administrative earnings thresholds in the unemployed and low wage thresholds sections of the rules to align with DWP rates. These rates will take effect on 1 April 2023.

7. Information: payment profiles for academic year 2023 to 2024

In January we said we would confirm payment profiles for academic year 2023 to 2024. This is part of the reclassification of further education (FE) colleges, sixth form colleges and designated institutions in England to the public sector.

From academic year 2023 to 2024 onwards, we will pay allocations in 12 equal instalments to the following institutions receiving 16 to 19 and adult education budget grant funding. We already pay local authority maintained and academy sixth forms in this way.

There is no change to the advanced learner loans bursary, and we will still pay this in 3 instalments: 50% in August, 25% in January and 25% in April.

7.1 16 to 19 funding (including high needs)

• FE colleges and all other FE institutions, including local authorities for their FE provision, independent learning providers and special post-16 institutions.

7.2 Non-devolved adult grant funding

• all grant funded institutions, including colleges and local authorities

It does not include independent learning providers.

8. Information: payment date change

In January, we explained by letter and update article that we’re changing the payment date for 4 of our funding streams:

• procured adult education budget including national skills fund
• procured 19 to 24 traineeships
• contract funded advanced learner loans bursary
• 16 to 18 traineeships

This is a reminder that the April payment for these funding streams will be in your bank account on 26 April 2023, the 16th working day of the month. We uploaded a contract variation to Manage your Education and Skills in February 2023 to reflect this change.

If you have any queries relating to this, please contact the enquiry service.

9. Information: capital funding to improve the condition of schools 2023 to 2024

The department is allocating £1.8 billion in capital funding for financial year 2023 to 2024 to improve the condition of the school estate so that schools are safe and high-quality educational environments for children and young people to learn.

On 28 March, the department published the provisional School Condition Allocation (SCA) amounts for financial year 2023 to 2024 for eligible bodies responsible for schools. We also published Devolved Formula Capital (DFC) amounts for individual schools to spend on local capital priorities. Allocation amounts, spend guidance and the methodology used to calculate eligibility and allocations are all available on GOV.UK.

Final SCA and DFC allocations will be published later in the spring, based on information about schools and their responsible bodies at the start of April 2023, and may differ from provisional allocations in some cases.

As part of this funding, we also expect the outcome of Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) bids for 2023 to 2024 to be set out later in May 2023.

10. Information: Buying for Schools summer webinar schedule now live – book your place

Are you responsible for buying goods and services for your school? The Schools Commercial Team (SCT) within the Department for Education lead on the Buying for Schools programme; delivering services to support schools to buy goods and services.

The team are hosting free webinars on how using our approved frameworks could save you time and help your school get value for money. Our summer programme will begin on 25 April with the webinars listed below. Click on the links to find out more and book your place:

• How the Get help buying for schools service can support your school buying – 25 April
• Buying print for your school – 25 April
• Buying electricity and mains gas for your school through ESPO – 25 April

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

11. Information: Get help buying for schools at the Schools and Academies Show, 17 May

The Schools and Academies Show takes place on Wednesday 17 May at London Excel.

The DfE Schools Commercial Team will be hosting a session at the show on how the Get help buying for schools service can help your school buy goods and services efficiently and compliantly. Join us at 10am in the Business and Finance theatre and find out for yourself.

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