To ask the Minister of Education for his assessment of the financial impact of the proposed Common Funding Scheme on schools in the district electoral areas of (i) Carrickfergus; (ii) Antrim; and (iii) Newtownabbey.

The illustrative budgets prepared for schools as part of the current Common Funding Scheme (CFS) consultation exercise reflect what schools would have received in the current year if all the proposed changes had applied. The figures are based on this year’s enrolment numbers, free school meals entitlement and Aggregated Schools’ Budget (plus the additional £10m for social deprivation). The ASB for next year will increase by an additional £15.8m which is not included in these figures.

My proposals on the reform of the Common Funding Scheme are still out for consultation. I have not taken any final decisions on these proposals yet.

It is not possible therefore to provide figures, or an assessment, on the budgets that will be made available to schools for next year, until these decisions are made. In addition, other factors, such as the increased Aggregated Schools’ Budget (ASB) for next year, overall enrolment levels, the number of Free School Meal Entitled pupils, and the number of Newcomer and Traveller pupils etc will impact on funding levels at individual school level.

The report of the independent review panel highlighted the relationship between social deprivation and low educational outcomes and recommended that more funding should be targeted at pupils from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and that this funding should be weighted towards schools with significant concentrations of disadvantage.

The consultation period closes on 18 October and I would encourage everyone with an interest in education to take part in the debate. I will take all responses into account before I make my final decisions on the way ahead.