Paul McGrath
Ceist:234 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Science the capitation grant payable to students in each type of second level school; and the reason these amounts are not uniform. [29079/00]
Written Answers. - Capitation Grants.
At second level the resources provided by my Department reflect the different management and ownership arrangements
Voluntary secondary schools are funded on a per capita basis. The grant was increased to £184 from £177 last year. It was further increased by £8 from September this year to £192 and will be significantly increased by £10 to £202 for the next school year. An additional per capita grant of £30 per pupil is payable to disadvantaged schools. Accordingly this increase will bring the per capita payment to £232. In addition, and in recognition of the cash flow needs of schools, I am arranging to bring forward the payment of the next instalment of the per capita grant from January 2001 to later this month.
The financial allocations for vocational schools and community colleges are made to the vocational education committees as part of a block grant, which also covers the VEC head office overheads and other activities apart from the second level programme. The Department does not earmark allocations for individual schools or for the various activities of vocational education committees. The way in which the grant is distributed among schools is a matter for each committee in line with their priorities and perceptions of need.
Community and comprehensive schools unlike voluntary secondary schools do not receiveper capita grants. Instead, each school is given a budget based mainly on pupil numbers, but which also takes into account additional factors which vary from school to school such as disadvantaged status, age of buildings, size of school, etc. Budget allocations for the VEC and community and comprehensive sectors are increased on a pro rata basis with increases in the per capita grant.
All schools are eligible for recurrentper capita grants towards special classes and curricular support grants.
The funding arrangements for the different school types at second level have evolved in a manner, which has created structures that lack uniformity and cohesion. This is a reflection of the different traditions and structures of the voluntary secondary, comprehensive and community and VEC sectors. I consider that the report of the steering group on the funding of second level schools represents a comprehensive review of the funding arrangements and is a most valuable document in both its analysis and clarity of approach. It is my intention that this report will inform policy on future school funding. While I intend to direct my energies to address the issues raised in the report, I want to emphasise that my priority in this regard is the adequacy of funding.
In this connection I have already shown my commitment by the establishment of the school services support fund, which is a significant initiative in the funding of our schools. All second level schools will now receive additional annual funding of £20 per pupil with a minimum payment of £4,000 per school. This fund will channel an additional £7 million to schools each year.
My approach to date has clearly shown my commitment and determination to improve funding at second level and I intend to build further on progress to date.