Apologies were received from forum members Mr A Davies, Mr P Cordey and Mrs K Weston.

Apologies were also received from the director for children’s wellbeing.

Mr B Caldicott attended for Mrs K Weston.

Mr T Knapp declared an interest in item 7 as headteacher of Whitecross High School.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2017.

Resolved: that the minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed by the chairman.

To elect a Vice-Chairman for the remainder of 2017/18.

Resolved: that Mrs J Cohn be elected vice chairman of the forum for the remainder of 2017/18.

To recommend the Herefordshire schools budget for 2018/19 to the cabinet member for young people and children's wellbeing for approval

Members were asked to consider both the original report and the supplementary report which contained information and additional or amended recommendations arising from the meeting of the budget working group on 5 January 2018.

The schools finance manager (SFM) introduced the report. He noted that:

·         the proposed funding values were the same as the draft that members had considered at the October 2017 meeting and closely reflected the consultation which had taken place with schools in the autumn term;

·         the increase in the schools block was 1% compared to 2017/18, this was disappointing but in line with expectations;

·         figures set out in the report showed that on a per pupil basis Herefordshire schools were better funded than those in statistical neighbour authorities, it was noted that comparisons to urban authorities were less favourable;

·         the minimum funding guarantee (MFG) was proposed to be set at 0.5% for 2018/19 in order to pass through to all schools the government’s 0.5% increase per pupil, a further 0.5% increase was expected for 2019/20;

·         the proposed funding values achieved full implementation of the national funding formula a year earlier than required by the DfE;

·         proposals for de-delegation were generally in line with those for previous years with a reduction in the cost to primary schools of trade union facilities and the removal of the staff sickness absence scheme;

·         there was a low response rate to the autumn consultation, in the past this had been taken to mean that proposals were generally acceptable to schools;

·         responses in relation to the staff sickness absence scheme were mixed, the recommendation of the budget working group was that all schools should buy cover directly from the market, the council was working with its broker and hoped to be able to recommend policies that it felt were fair and offered the level of cover required;

·         there was no change to the formula for the early years block and the pass through rate for Herefordshire was well above the minimum set by the DfE;

·         there had been a small increase in the central school services block and this was proposed to be used to support further development of the early years NEF payment system and the online payroll system.

The SFM then spoke on the matter of the high needs block, the key points being:

·         the forum had previously been made aware of the projected overspend in the high needs block for 2017/18 of around £300k;

·         there was a recognised need to take action to bring expenditure in line with available funding;

·         a package of measures would be discussed at the meeting of the budget working group in February 2018 and recommendations would be brought to the forum in March;

·         due to improvements in attainment in Herefordshire schools the number of pupils qualifying for low prior attainment funding was lower than expected, resulting in a net surplus in the schools block of £324k, this was an unexpected windfall and should be seen as a one-off;

·         options for the use of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To receive the results of the three yearly review of the Whitecross PFI Scheme as agreed by Schools Forum in March 2015 (minute 201 refers) and to form a view as to whether the funding of the PFI contract remains sufficient to meet the contractual commitments without the need for additional funding at this time.

The schools finance manager (SFM) introduced the report. He explained the background to the PFI contract and reminded members of the forum of additional funding that had previously been allocated to the contract. Some savings had been made which had also contributed to managing the costs of the contract. The governors of Whitecross school had agreed not to exercise their right to claim those savings.

It was explained that payments to the PFI provider were index linked to RPIX. The report set out the current and forecast inflation figures. The original model assumed an inflation rate of 2.5% for the life of the contract. The figures in the report showed that was unlikely to be case and remodelling had taken place to reflect the higher inflation figures.

The Council had added additional funding of £55,000 for 2018/19 and this would cover current inflationary costs and the SFM did not believe that there was a need to allocate any further funding at this time. Monitoring of the contract would continue and the next review would be brought back to the forum in 2021. The SFM reminded the forum that the DfE was committed to providing funding to cover the DSG share of the costs under the national funding formula. Any increase in that part would not affect Herefordshire school budgets.

It was agreed that:

a)    No further funding was required from the dedicated schools grant at this time;

b)    A progress review be added to the forum’s work programme for January 2021.

Mr Lewandowski asked members to consider adding a task to the work programme of the forum in relation to recruitment and retention problems in schools. He asked if schools could be asked to collect factual evidence on this issue.

It was agreed that:

a)    the item not be added to the work programme at this time; and

b)    the schools finance manager approach the HR services manager to explore what data was already centrally held.