Fact File: DfE Capital Funding financial year 2014 to 2015
Issued January 2014
The DfE has published a Technical note on formulaic calculation of Devolved Formula Capital (£200
million) and maintenance funding (£1.2 billion). The totals are unchanged from last year.
DEVOLVED FORMULA CAPITAL (DFC) (Budget £200 million)
Purpose
DFC is a capital grant for improvements to buildings and other facilities, including ICT, or capital
repairs/refurbishment in accordance with priorities set by each school and in line with the local asset
management plan.
Scope
DFC calculated for all maintained mainstream nursery, primary and secondary schools, special
schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), Academies, Community Technical Colleges and non-maintained
special schools (NMSSs). Exclusions: Independent schools and direct grant nursery schools.


Breakdown
DFC comprises a lump sum element of £4,000 plus a per-pupil element based on January
2013 pupil census.
The per-pupil payment is £11.25 for nursery or primary pupils. Secondary pupils are paid at
1.5 times this rate (£16.88). Pupils at non-maintained special schools or Pupil Referral Units
and boarders are paid at three times (£33.75).
Funding distribution channels
 Local Authorities (LA) pass on the grant in full to maintained schools.
 VA (Voluntary Aided) schools: separate DFC budget within overall total because of VA
financial contribution and VAT arrangements.
 The Education Funding Agency (EFA) distributes it to academies, sixth form colleges and
non-maintained special schools.
 Academies must be already open or scheduled to open by 1 April 2014 to be eligible for
2014-15 allocation.
Funding arrangements for new schools
 Academies: The lump sum is payable to academies open or scheduled to open by 1 April
2014 (Maintained schools converting to academy status during the financial year receive
normal DFC allocation from their LA).
 Academies and Free Schools without predecessor schools (and absent from January 2013
pupil census) receive DFC allocations in mid-2014 based on January 2014 pupil census.
 New schools in state sector: LAs do not receive DFC allocation for maintained schools which
open after the January 2013 pupil census (if LA chooses to fund these schools from other
sources, no funding retention is imposed on LA for schools closing after the January 2013
pupil census).
MAINTENACE CAPITAL 2014-2015 (Budget £1.2 billion)
Scope
 Calculated for maintained schools, non-maintained special schools, academies, sixth form
colleges and independent specialist providers and allocated as separate budgets.
Funding allocation note
 Funding for building condition and maintenance in 2014/15 to be on a per-pupil basis.
Allocations in future years to be targeted based on building condition (once building survey
programmes are up to date).
Overall principle
 Budget split: Maintained and VA schools- £699 million; Academies - £442 million.
 Per-pupil element weighted as in Devolved Formula Capital.
 Capital element reflects local building costs and classification per Schools Building Survey,
October 2011 (e.g. modernised schools will receive lower weighting).
 An individual LA’s share of national maintenance capital fund is based on its share of DFC
(e.g. if an LA receives 1.5% of the DFC total, it will receive 1.5% of the maintenance capital
total).
 Maintained schools: allocations to LA which distributes to school.
 Academies: Funding pot centrally held.
Academies:
 Funded by application to Academies Capital Maintenance Fund (ACMF).
 Academies can bid for up to two projects that tackle building condition issues or expand
facilities. The majority of funds will need to be spent by 31 March 2015, with a limited amount
available for two-year projects.
 The maximum funding available per project will be limited to £4 million.
 Successful projects to be announced in April 2014.
Sixth form colleges:
 Funded by application to Building Condition Improvement Fund.