Conditions

As Voluntary Aided Schools will be aware, major changes took place with effect from April 2002:

Governor liabilities

This includes all of the buildings including those previously ‘excepted’ (eg Caretakers Houses, dining rooms, kitchens) and heating and electrical systems, furniture, fixtures and fittings, perimeter walls/fences and playgrounds.

For repairs the formula repair grant no longer exists and all funding for such items will be made available from the LEA via school delegated budgets or LCVAP as appropriate.

Building Works at Voluntary Aided Schools

For Aided schools, ownership of the school site and buildings (excluding playing fields and Caretakers Houses) normally lies with the Trustees (e.g. the Diocese) with management of the site being undertaken by the Governors.  This creates a significant difference for approving and funding schemes at Voluntary Aided schools.  When providing new buildings (including new schools), repairs or improvements to existing buildings, the responsibility for funding and organising works normally lies with the Governors / Trustees and not the LEA.  Governors can receive grant aid from DfEE for their expenditure although they are currently required to contribute 10% to this sum.  Where items are the responsibility of the LEA, if they form a small part of a grant aided scheme, they will normally be funded from the school delegated budget.  However where the scheme is the sole responsibility of the LEA and is not delegated to schools, the work will normally be organised by the LEA.

Governors are reminded that Building Regulations, Planning Approvals and all other statutory regulations must be complied with. Particular attention is drawn to asbestos management. Further guidance on these issues is available elsewhere on this website.

Governors must also seek the approval of their Diocese/Trustees prior to undertaking work and will normally be expected to consult with the LEA (Asset Management )You must also seek DfES approval if the scheme costs more than £2000, even when external funding is being used not DfES grant.

When works are to be undertaken, it is important to refer to the latest DfES reference document which is available as a download document from the Teachernet website.  It includes detailed guidance on how schemes might be funded and the current list of liabilities.

Where work is Governor responsibility, it is normal that Governors will be able to claim grant aid from DfES.  This is usually at a rate of 90%, the other 10% has to be found by the Trustees or Governors – it is legitimate for the School’s delegated budget share to be used for this purpose.

Governor grant aidable expenditure

Appropriate projects are funded from the LEA Co-ordinated VA Programme (LCVAP) previously known as the Minor Works Formula Allocation. Each year as part of the Annual Capital Guideline (ACG) announcement, an allocation of money is established by DfES to cover grant aidable expenditure.  The LEA will allocate these funds and each of the Diocesan/Trustee bodies is invited by the LEA to submit schemes to be funded from this allocation.  Priorities will be driven by the Asset Management Plan and allocations made in accordance with the Local Policy Statement.

Other specific funding might be made available by the DfES e.g. access for the disabled.  This will also be managed by the LEA and schools invited to take part.

Schools will also have access to capital funding through their formula devolved capital allocation. It is anticipated that this will be used as a contribution to LCVAP funded schemes unless there are other lower value but higher priority needs identified in the schools condition or suitability survey.  School spending plans will normally be agreed with their Diocese or Trustees.

Capital projects seeking to provide additional pupil places (Basic Need) are normally submitted as part of the ACG bid. If approved by DfES, Design List status is normally given in year 1 with funding for building works in year 2 onward.

LEA Liability

For Repair items and Capital works, you must first clarify whether this is Governor responsibility as defined under the LEA’s delegation of funding arrangements - this will normally be repair and maintenance items costing less than £2,000. In such cases, it is for Governors to meet the costs of those particular elements (or possibly Urban Design where schools subscribe to the emergency service). In other cases, funding needs to be considered from the R&M centrally held budget. If funding is not available centrally, the scheme may still proceed if the Governors are prepared to meet the cost of any LEA liability. Where a scheme cost is defined as Governor responsibility and is more than £2,000 including fees and VAT, refer to the Governor grant aidable expenditure section above.

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