# The Education (Grant-maintained Schools) (Finance) Regulations 1991, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations replace, as respects England, the provisions of the Education (Grant-maintained Schools) (Finance) Regulations 1990. The 1990 Regulations are amended by these Regulations so that they continue to apply to Wales.
The Regulations provide for the calculation of the amount of maintenance grant to be paid, and the kinds of capital and special purpose grants which may be paid, by the Secretary of State to the governing bodies of grant-maintained schools established under the provisions of the Education Reform Act 1988. Maintenance grant is paid to meet expenditure on the normal running costs of the school; capital grant, to meet capital expenditure; and special purpose grant, to meet expenditure incurred on particular educational purposes or expenditure which the governing body could not reasonably be expected to meet out of maintenance grant.
The principal changes introduced by these Regulations are to the methods of calculating the amount of maintenance grant payable to the governing bodies of grant-maintained schools. Changes are also made to the provisions for the apportionment of maintenance grant, to the provisions for revising the amount of maintenance grant, and to the kinds of expenditure for which special purpose grant may be paid.
Regulation 4 provides for the calculation of a grant-maintained school’s maintenance grant where the financial provision made for schools maintained by the former maintaining local education authority is regulated by a scheme made under section 33 of the 1988 Act. In general, the amount of maintenance grant comprises 3 elements:
(1) an amount which the Secretary of State is satisfied is or approximates to an amount which the school could have received under the former maintaining authority’s scheme had the school continued to be maintained by the authority (regulation 4(2));
(2) an amount equal to the greater of—
(a) 16 per cent. of the amount determined under regulation 4(2); or
(b) where applicable, that amount which was determined in respect of the school under the regulation 4(4) of the 1990 Regulations or, as the case may be, the relevant part of the amount determined under regulation 5(4) of the 1990 Regulations (regulation 4(5) and (6));
(3) an amount in respect of the provision of school meals, and, where appropriate, amounts in respect of the provision of education to junior pupils who have not attained the age of five years and in respect of contingencies (regulation 4(7)).
In the case of schools acquiring grant-maintained status at the beginning of, or during, the financial year in respect of which the determination of maintenance grant is made, there is added to the amount of maintenance grant an amount which appears to the Secretary of State to be equal to the amount of the school’s budget share for the preceding financial year which remained unspent by the then governing body of the school (regulation 4(8)). For schools which acquire grant-maintained status during the financial year to which the determination relates, the amount referred to in (1) above is calculated by reference to the amount of the school’s budget share which remains unspent at the date of incorporation of the school as a grant-maintained school (regulation 4(3)).
Where under the authority’s scheme the amount referred to in (1) above would have been determined wholly or mainly by reference to previous expenditure on the school, maintenance grant may be determined by reference to previous expenditure on the school adjusted to take account of relevant changes in circumstances (regulation 4(4)).
Regulation 5 and regulation 6 provide for the calculation of maintenance grant where the financing provision made for schools maintained by its former maintaining local education authority is not subject to regulation by a scheme made under section 33 of the 1988 Act.
Regulation 5, with Schedules I and 2, applies to schools which acquire grant-maintained status in the financial year in respect of which the determination of maintenance grant is made. Under regulation 5, maintenance grant comprises—
(a) an amount which the Secretary of State is satisfied represents the amount of expenditure by the former maintaining authority directly on the school in the last financial year before the school acquired grant-maintained status (regulation 5(4) and (5));
(b) an amount equal to 16 per cent. of the amount referred to in (a) above (regulation 5(6)); and
(c) an amount in respect of the authority’s planned expenditure on the provision of school meals (regulation 5(7)).
These amounts may be adjusted to take account of relevant changes in circumstances.
Regulation 6 applies to schools which acquired grant-maintained status before the financial year in respect of which the determination of maintenance grant is made. The elements comprising maintenance grant under regulation 6 are the same as under regulation 5 except that, in place of (a) above, the Secretary of State is required to determine an amount produced by taking the amount determined in respect of the school under regulation 3(2) of the 1989 Regulations or regulation 5(2) of the 1990 Regulations (depending on the date the school acquired grant-maintained status), and adjusting that amount to take account of relevant changes in circumstances (regulation 6(4)).
Regulation 7 provides that amounts required to be determined by the Secretary of State under regulations 4, 5 and 6 shall be determined by him on the information available to him on a date determined by him and notified to the former maintaining authority (referred to as “the relevant date”). The Secretary of State may redetermine the relevant date where he considers it appropriate to do so. Where there is not available to the Secretary of State on the relevant date sufficient information as will, in his opinion, allow him to determine any of those amounts, he may determine the amount of maintenance grant on such basis as appears to him to be fair and reasonable.
Regulation 8 permits the Secretary of State, after consulting the governing body (or the prospective governing body) of the school and the relevant local education authority, to determine maintenance grant for a school, where otherwise regulation 4 would apply, in accordance with regulation 5 or (as the case may be) regulation 6.
Regulation 9 provides for the apportionment of maintenance grant for schools which attain grant-maintained status other than at the beginning of a financial year. Regulation 10 provides for the adjustment of maintenance grant in the light of subsequent changes, or to correct errors.
Regulation 12 and Schedule 4 provide for the payment of capital grants. Regulation 13 provides for the payment of special purpose grants for the kinds of expenditure specified in Schedule 5. A change has been made in these Regulations to include expenditure incurred, or to be incurred, by a governing body in connection with the acquisition by the school of grant-maintained status and the transfer to the governing body of responsibility for the conduct of the school, where that expenditure is incurred within 12 months of the date of incorporation.
Regulations 11 and 14 and Schedule 3 specify requirements, and empower the Secretary of State to determine other requirements, with which the governing bodies to whom payments of maintenance grant or special purpose grant are made are to comply.
Section 81(1) of the 1988 Act empowers the Secretary of State to recover from the former maintaining authority sums in respect of the maintenance grant payable for any financial year to the governing body of a grant-maintained school. Regulation 15 specifies as the total amount which may be so recovered the amount of maintenance grant determined in accordance with the Regulations. This amount is subject to adjustment to reflect any excess paid by that authority in previous financial years.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1991/353/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/education-grant-maintained-schools-finance-regulations-1991/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.