Guidance

Local authority planned expenditure benchmarking tables 2024 to 2025: explanatory note

Updated 17 October 2024

Applies to England

1. Introduction

This document has 2 purposes:

• to provide a technical note giving a methodology for any calculations made by the department and information on the datasets used
• to act as a user guide

Each year the Department for Education (DfE) publishes the statistical first release (SFR), providing information and commentary about national planned expenditure on education and young people’s services. Approximately one week later, the local authority equivalent, the section 251 (s251) benchmarking tables, are published giving detailed local authority level information.

The s251 benchmarking tables:

• are collated from information submitted in the s251 budget data collection for the 2024 to 2025 financial year. Data is final when the COLLECT system closes regardless of the return status
• only include funding for schools that were still maintained on 31 March 2024 where budget data relates only to maintained schools
• include any schools that were known to be converting to academy status during the year
• present the information submitted allowing users to compare planned expenditure between local authorities
• include the minimum, maximum, median and mean calculated for the country in each category presented
• do not include the Isles of Scilly and City of London due to their small size

2. Changes from the earlier publications

Changes made in 2024 to 2025 are:

• early years pupil data has been collected in greater detail this year and is now presented in 4 age categories
• the ‘Year-on-Year’ table now contains comparisons for Cumberland, and Westmorland and Furness, following local authority boundary changes made in April 2023. Some columns in the ‘Additional Information’ table have not been populated for these local authorities, as the source data outside the s251 budget data has not been updated since the boundary changes

Changes made in earlier versions are:

• the statistical neighbours tool has not been updated to account for boundary changes. Therefore, statistical neighbours are not available for Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness. These local authorities can still be selected manually to produce comparisons
• budget line ‘1.2.12 Carbon reduction commitment allowances (PRUs)’ was removed from the s251 budget, as the Carbon Reduction Commitment Scheme ended

3. Per capita tables: calculations and underlying data

There are 2 per capita tables:

• per capita gross - the per capita gross table uses the gross amount submitted on the s251 budget statement

• per capita net - the per capita net table uses the amount net of any income tied to that budget line

These tables contain the budgeted spending amounts submitted in each line of the s251 statement, divided by a count of children and young people (a ‘denominator’). For each denominator the most appropriate available count is used according to who that particular type of spending applies to.

The denominators are chosen from:

A. a count of pupils aged 3 to 19 in maintained schools only in the local authority

B. a count of pupils aged 3 to 19 in maintained schools and all academies in the local authority

C. a count of pupils aged 3 to 15 in maintained schools and all academies in the local authority

D. the resident population aged up to 17 in the local authority

E. the resident population aged up to 19 in the local authority

F. the resident population aged 16 to 18 in the local authority

G. the resident population aged 19 to 25 in the local authority

These are chosen for each budget line based on a range of criteria, such as the age group the spending applies to and whether spending applies to maintained school pupils, academy pupils or children and young people who do not attend state schools.

Table 1 outlines which columns of the per capita tables the denominators are used for; denominators are also stated at the top of the columns in the per capita tables.

Table 1: Line details of the budget statement where each denominator is used

Denominator	Columns where the denominators are used in per capita tables
A	4 to 13, 45 to 51
B	1, 3, 28 to 44, 52 to 63, 69 to 77
C	64 to 65
D	27, 78 to 112
E	2, 14 to 26
F	66, 68
G	67

As more academies open, it becomes increasingly important to distinguish which budget categories include spending on maintained schools only and which include spending on all state funded schools. For example, ‘supply of school places’ is a statutory function of the local authority towards all schools, so denominator B is used. ‘Schools budget insurance’ uses denominator A because local authorities do not have responsibility for this for academies^{[footnote 1]}.

Table 2 summarises how the denominators A, B and C (the ‘pupil number’ denominators) relate to maintained schools and academies with more particular detail in Table 3^{[footnote 2]}.

Table 2: shows how the pupil number denominators are used for maintained school and academies.

Age range	Maintained school pupil denominator	Academy pupil denominator
Aged 3 to 15	A, B, C	B, C
Aged 16 to 19	A, B	B

Table 3: shows how the pupil number denominators are calculated for maintained school and academies.

Type of pupils	Source	Age	Denominators
Full-time equivalent pupils educated in maintained nursery schools	January 2023 schools census[footnote 3]	3 to 15 inclusive	A, B, C
Full-time equivalent pupils educated in maintained primary schools (including nursery classes)[footnote 4]	January 2023 schools census	3 to 15 inclusive	A, B, C
Full-time equivalent pupils educated in maintained secondary schools	January 2023 schools census	3 to 15 inclusive	A, B, C
Full-time equivalent pupils educated in maintained secondary schools	January 2023 schools census	16 to 19 inclusive	A, B
Full-time equivalent pupils educated in maintained special schools	January 2023 schools census	3 to 15 inclusive	A, B, C
Full-time equivalent pupils educated in maintained special schools	January 2023 schools census	16 to 19 inclusive	A, B
Full-time equivalent pupils educated in pupil referral units	January 2023 schools census	3 to 15 inclusive	A, B, C
Full-time equivalent pupils educated in pupil referral units	January 2023 schools census	16 to 19 inclusive	A, B
Pupils receiving education in private, voluntary and independent early years settings	January 2023 schools census	2 to 4 inclusive	B, C
Full-time equivalent pupils educated in all academies in the local authority	January 2023 schools census	3 to 15 inclusive	B, C
Full-time equivalent pupils educated in all academies in the local authority	January 2023 schools census	16 to 19 inclusive	B
Pupils educated in general hospital schools	January 2023 school level annual schools census (SLASC) [footnote 5]	3 to 15 inclusive	A, B, C
Pupils educated in general hospital schools	January 2023 school level annual schools census (SLASC)	16 to 19 inclusive	A, B
Pupils receiving education in other settings due to arrangements made by the local authority	January 2023 alternative provision (AP) census [footnote 6]	3 to 15 inclusive	A, B, C
Pupils receiving education in other settings due to arrangements made by the local authority	January 2023 alternative provision (AP) census	16 to 19 inclusive	A, B

Pupil numbers are based on January 2024 data collections, so they may not match the pupil numbers for whom planned expenditure is recorded in the s251 budget data perfectly. This is the case particularly where schools have opened or closed mid-year or converted to academy status. As highlighted above, pupils at schools that converted to academy status between the census date and the end of March 2024 are not counted towards the maintained schools pupil numbers only. This counts all pupils at maintained schools as at the end of March 2024, which is consistent with the local authority’s budgetary information for the relevant lines.

The population number denominators (denominators D to G) are derived from the Office for National Statistic’s (ONS’s) mid-year population projections, which are based on population data from mid-2018.

Please note that the denominators for the ‘Early Years Benchmarking’ table are calculated using a different method. The denominator for the average hourly funding rates for early years are based on the planned hours, as reported by local authorities in their s251 budget.

4. Year-on-year table: calculations and underlying data

This table provides information on changes in local authorities’ planned educational expenditure between the 2023 to 2024 financial year and 2024 to 2025 financial year for selected expenditure categories.

The high needs budget (column 2) consists of the sum of various lines relating to the high needs budget.

There are also columns showing the percentage change in 3 of the denominators between the 2022 to 2023 financial year and the 2023 to 2024 financial year. These are ages 3 to 19-years-old maintained schools only (denominator A), ages 3 to 19-years-old maintained schools and academies (denominator B) and the 0 to 19-year-old population (denominator E). Any large decreases in ‘maintained schools only’ pupil numbers are likely to be because schools have converted to academy status.

If the underlying cash amounts are very small, a relatively small increase or decrease between years can result in a large percentage change. The average size (noted at the top of each column), together with the values on the per-pupil table, give a general indication of the relative size of planned expenditure on these budget items. Year-on-year changes could also be a result of accounting changes or because of a local authority delegating increased levels of expenditure to its schools.

The compositions of the selected expenditure categories are given in Table 4, for ease of reference.

Table 4: detail of budget lines used for comparison in year-on-year table

Category	Lines of the s251 budget statement used in 2023 to 2024	Lines of the s251 budget statement used in 2024 to 2025
Schools budget
1. Individual schools budget (before academy recoupment), including high needs place funding	Sum of 1.0.1 to 1.0.2 (net)	Sum of 1.0.1 to 1.0.2 (net)
2. High needs budget	Sum of 1.2.1 to 1.2.13 (net)	Sum of 1.2.1 to 1.2.13 (net)
3. Contingencies	1.1.1 (net)	1.1.1 (net)
Local authority budget
4. Central support services	Sum of 1.6.1 and 2.0.1 (net)	Sum of 1.6.1 and 2.0.1 (net)
5. Education welfare service	Sum of 1.5.1, 1.6.2 and 2.0.2 (net)	Sum of 1.5.1, 1.6.2 and 2.0.2 (net)
6. School improvement	Sum of 1.6.7, 1.1.10 and 2.0.3 (net)	Sum of 1.6.7, 1.1.10 and 2.0.3 (net)
7. Asset management	Sum of 1.5.2, 1.6.3 and 2.0.4 (net)	Sum of 1.5.2, 1.6.3 and 2.0.4 (net)
8. Statutory or regulatory duties	Sum of 1.5.3, 1.6.4 and 2.0.5 (net)	Sum of 1.5.3, 1.6.4 and 2.0.5 (net)
9. Premature retirement cost or redundancy costs (new provisions)	Sum of 1.6.5 and 2.0.6 (net)	Sum of 1.6.5 and 2.0.6 (net)
10. Monitoring national curriculum assessment	Sum of 1.6.6 and 2.0.7 (net)	Sum of 1.6.6 and 2.0.7 (net)
11. Home to school or college transport	Sum of 2.1.4 to 2.1.8 (net)	Sum of 2.1.4 to 2.1.8 (net)

5. Additional information table: calculations and underlying data

This table provides additional information for schools forums and authorities and draws data from a number of sources.

As highlighted in the introduction, most year-on-year data for Cumberland, and Westmorland and Furness is now complete, due to some data sources not being collected after to April 2023 there are four columns in the additional information table where the output is not available (11, 12, 14 and 15).

Further information about the columns in this table is given below.

Table 5: details of the data included in the additional information table

Column number	Column heading	Description
1	2024 to 2025 DSG schools block primary unit of funding (SBUF) per pupil	Taken directly from the amounts published as part of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) allocations.
2	2024 to 2025 DSG schools block secondary unit of funding (SBUF) per pupil	Taken directly from the amounts published as part of the DSG).
3	Additional contribution to planned expenditure in 2024 to 2025	The additional cash contribution (if any) made to the schools budget by the local authority, taken from line 1.9.5 of each local authority’s latest s251 budget statements for the 2024 to 2025 financial year.
4	Percentage of maintained primary schools receiving minimum funding guarantee	The percentage of maintained primary schools recorded as receiving minimum funding guarantee on the latest authority proforma tool (APT) returns for 2024 to 2025. Academies are not included in the calculation of these percentages.
5	Percentage of maintained secondary schools receiving minimum funding guarantee	The percentage of maintained secondary schools recorded as receiving minimum funding guarantee on the latest APT returns for 2024 to 2025. Academies are not included in the calculation of these percentages.
6	Number of maintained primary schools receiving minimum funding guarantee	The number of maintained primary schools recorded as receiving minimum funding guarantee on the latest APT returns for 2024 to 2025. Academies are not included in this calculation.
7	Number of maintained primary schools	The number of maintained primary schools recorded on the latest APT returns for 2024 to 2025. Academies are not included in this calculation.
8	Number of maintained secondary schools receiving minimum funding guarantee	The number of maintained secondary schools recorded as receiving minimum funding guarantee on the latest APT returns for 2024 to 2025. Academies are not included in this calculation.
9	Number of maintained secondary schools	The number of maintained secondary schools recorded on the latest APT returns for 2024 to 2025. Academies are not included in this calculation.
10	Gross 2.1.4 Home to school transport (pre-16): SEN transport expenditure + 2.1.6 Home to post-16 provision: SEN or LLDD transport expenditure (aged 16 to 18) + 2.1.7 Home to post-16 provision: SEN or LLDD transport expenditure (aged 19 to 25) + 1.4.11 SEN transport	The total of home to school special educational needs (SEN) transport expenditure (lines 2.1.4, 2.1.6 and 2.1.7 gross) and SEN transport (line 1.4.11 gross) in each authority’s latest s251 budget statements for the 2024 to 2025 financial year is divided by the number of children and young people with a statement or education, health and care (EHC) plan as at January 2024. Further information can be found in the Explore Education Statistics Service (SEN provision by local authority).
11	Gross 3.1.11 Total children looked after	Total children looked after (line 3.1.11 gross) in each authority’s latest s251 budget statements for the 2024 to 2025 financial year is divided by the number of looked-after children using the ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’ publication (as at 31 March 2023). Further information can be found in table LAA1 (local authority tables).
12	Gross 3.3.4 Total safeguarding children and young people’s services	Total safeguarding children and young people’s safety (3.3.4 gross) in each authority’s latest s251 budget statements for the 2024 to 2025 financial year is divided by the number of children in need, plus looked-after children (as at 31 March 2023). Further information can be found in table LAA1 (local authority tables) and table B1 (main tables).
13	Net 2.1.4 Home to school transport (pre-16): SEN transport expenditure + 2.1.6 Home to post-16 provision: SEN or LLDD transport expenditure (aged 16 to 18) + 2.1.7 Home to post-16 provision: SEN or LLDD transport expenditure (aged 19 to 25) + 1.4.11 SEN transport	Home to school transport: SEN transport expenditure (lines 2.1.4, 2.1.6 and 2.1.7 net) plus SEN transport (line 1.4.11 net) in each authority’s latest s251 budget statements for the 2024 to 2025 financial year is divided by the number of children and young people with a statement or EHC plan as at January 2024. Further information can be found in the Explore Education Statistics Service (SEN provision by local authority).
14	Net 3.1.11 Total children looked after	Total children looked after (line 3.1.11 net) in each authority’s latest s251 budget statements for the 2024 to 2025 financial year is divided by the number of looked-after children using the ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’ publication (as at 31 March 2023). Further information can be found in table LAA1 (local authority tables).
15	Net 3.3.4 Total safeguarding children and young people’s services	Total safeguarding children and young people’s safety (3.3.4 net) in each authority’s latest s251 budget statements for the 2024 to 2025 financial year is divided by the number of children in need plus looked after children (as at 31 March 2023). Further information can be found in table LAA1 (local authority tables) and table B1 (main tables).

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1. Academies receive funding for this as part of their allocations directly from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). ↩

2. The pupil count will be based on headcount (the number of pupils), or full-time equivalent pupils according to the number of funded hours. ↩

3. For the schools census, the counts for pupils less than 4 years old were recorded in part-time equivalent format for the first time in 2018. This includes universal hours entitlement, as well as additional hours entitlement. For the benchmarking tables, these pupil numbers are converted to full-time equivalent (i.e., part-time equivalent x 0.6) before adding to the full-time equivalent pupil numbers for those aged 4 and over. ↩

4. Maintained as at 31 March 2023. Excludes city technical colleges (CTCs). ↩

5. For the SLASC, the pupils are counted using full-time equivalent numbers for pupils aged less than 4 years old, and headcount for pupils aged 4 and over. ↩

6. For the alternative provision (AP) census, the pupils are counted using full-time equivalent numbers for pupils aged less than 4 years old, and headcount for pupils aged 4 and over. ↩