Vol. 508 No. 1
926 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Education and Science the per capita allocation to schools in the Kildare VEC scheme; the comparable figure for the private and voluntary secondary school systems in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18142/99]
Different funding arrangements are in place for VEC managed schools and voluntary secondary schools. Direct comparison between the two sectors either on a local or national basis is therefore difficult.
The financial allocations for vocational schools and community colleges are made to vocational education committees as part of a block grant to cover VEC head office overheads and other activities apart from the second-level programme. The allocations take account of enrolments and a range of other local factors. Vocational education committees also receive non-teaching staffing allocations, in respect of which my Department meets the full cost in accordance with centrally agreed salary scales. Each VEC has discretion to allocate funding and staffing allocations in accordance with its own priorities. Voluntary secondary schools are funded on a per capita basis based upon enrolments. The standard per capita grant for secondary schools currently stands at £184. These schools also receive grants of £30 and £25 per pupil towards the provision of secretarial and caretaking services, respectively, subject to maxima of £10,500 and £8,750, respectively.
A steering group on funding is currently examining the matter of equity of funding between the various sectors at second level. Under its terms of reference, the group will draw up a recommended funding framework designed to ensure equal treatment for different schools within the second level sector while taking account of the needs of these different schools. The group's report, which is expected shortly, will inform future developments in this area.
