Section 251: 2019 to 2020
Information for local authorities, schools and the general public about local authority education funding and expenditure plans for 2019 to 2020.
Applies to England
Introduction
Section 251 is part of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.
Local authorities submit statements on planned and actual expenditure on education and children’s social care.
The Department for Education uses the data for publishing statistics, constructing benchmarking tables, answering parliamentary questions and responding to other data requests.
Comparing information is important for schools forums and others in discussions about budget levels and use of funds.
Budget guidance
Local authorities must submit their budget statements by 30 April 2019 using COLLECT.
Read the to find out how local authorities record their budget statements.
The budget statements must be submitted in the , using COLLECT (DfE’s data collection and management system for education). The budget tables are available to download as a:
Read the COLLECT instructions to find out how to submit the budget statement.
The is a formal request for the collection of section 251 data. It’s prepared on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education.
Budget data
The section 251 budget data statements are the primary means of informing schools and the public in general about local authority funding and expenditure plans.
They are intended to give detailed information on each local authorities planned expenditure on their education and children’s social care functions in a form that allows benchmarking.
Budget summary level: 2019 to 2020
View the at a national level, split by sector and budget line.
Budget detailed level: local authority information 2019 to 2020
View the submitted by local authorities, split by local authority and budget line.
Budget detailed level: high needs table 2019 to 2020
View the submitted by local authorities, split by local authority and budget line.
Budget detailed level: early years table 2019 to 2020
View the submitted by local authorities, split by local authority and budget line.
Section 251 budget 2019 to 2020: individual local authority expenditure data
View the .
Benchmarking data
The benchmarking tables of planned expenditure are drawn from the published section 251 budget statements for the 2019 to 2020 financial year and are primarily aimed at schools forums and local authorities.
Local authority table (net) information: per capita
View the to see section 251 net budget data on a per capita (per pupil or per head of population) basis, to enable easy comparison between local authorities.
Local authority table (gross) information: per capita
View the to see section 251 gross budget data on a per capita (per pupil or per head of population) basis, to enable easy comparison between local authorities.
Pupil numbers 2019 to 2020
View the to see the pupil and population numbers used to calculate the ‘per capita’ figures used in the other tables.
Changes in local authority planned expenditure between 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020
View the to see year on year changes in selected items of planned spending to enable easy comparison across financial years.
Local authority benchmarking tables 2019 to 2020
View the to see additional information on planned expenditure, including dedicated schools grant allocations and the percentages of schools with minimum funding guarantee.
Additional information and explanatory note
Use the and to find out how to use the local authority benchmarking data.
Section 251 outturn
Read the to find out how to complete the outturn statement.
Use the to provide details of actual expenditure for your schools. Please note, this file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology. If you require this in a different format, please email ESFA.GOVUK-ENQUIRIES@education.gov.uk.
The is the formal request prepared on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education.
The is a detailed view of the section 251 data split into individual local authority tables.
The is a detailed view of the section 251 schools outturn data submitted by local authorities, split by local authority and outturn line.
The section 251 outturn 2019 to 2020: table A England summary is a summary of the section 251 outturn education data at a national level, split by sector and outturn line.
The section 251 outturn 2019 to 2020: table A1 England summary is a summary of the section 251 outturn children and young people’s services data at a national level, split by sector and outturn line.
Updates to this page
Last updated 28 May 2021 + show all updates
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Updated to include 2019 to 2020 section 251 outturn data
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We have corrected a contact email address on page 7 of the Section 251 outturn guidance. The correct email address for queries about the 2019 to 2020 data collection is: outturnqueries.s251@education.gov.uk.
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2019 to 2020 section 251 outturn guidance, outturn tables and administrative direction added.
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We've published the section 251 benchmarking data and supporting guidance.
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We've added the section 251 budget data statements.
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First published.