HEFCE Circular 12/96
Recurrent Grant for the Academic Year 1996-97: Final Allocations
To Heads of HEFCE-funded Institutions
Heads of DENI-funded Universities
Heads of FEFC-funded institutions in receipt of HEFCE Core Funding
Of interest to those responsible for Finance, Planning
Reference 12/96
Publication Date August 1996
Response by No Response Required
Enquiries to Regional Officers
Executive Summary
This circular announces the final allocations of recurrent and formula capital funding to institutions for the academic year 1996-97. Provisional allocations were previously announced in Circular 4/96.
A number of amendments have been made to the recurrent allocations since Circular 4/96, resulting in additional allocations of £5,288,347. The allocations of formula capital funding for 1996-97 are unchanged.
This means that the total allocations in Table 1 are now £3,144,390,117.
The adjustments to recurrent funding for teaching have led to some minor revisions to the Contract Student Numbers (CSNs) for some institutions, and have resulted in the allocation of 595 additional Maximum Aggregate Student Numbers (MASNs).
The Council's grants to institutions are governed by the terms and conditions in Part 1 of the revised Financial Memorandum between the Council and each institution. This will take effect fully from 1 August 1996.
The Council will continue to audit selectively the funding data provided by institutions, and may use HESA data to verify them. Where the Council finds that inaccurate data have resulted in institutions receiving allocations higher than would otherwise have been the case, the funding for those institutions is likely to be reduced accordingly.
Introduction
1. Circular 4/96 'Recurrent and Formula Capital Grants for the Academic Year 1996-97' issued in February 1996 announced recurrent and formula capital grant allocations for the academic year 1996-97. Since then a number of amendments to the allocations have been made.
2. Unless stated otherwise, all years relate to academic years. Revisions to Final Allocations
3. Table 1 of Circular 4/96 announced total allocations for 1996-97 of £3,139,101,770. The revisions from the recurrent allocations announced in that Circular can be summarised as:
| £ | |
| Initial Teacher Training restructuring | 733,215 |
| Retention of full-time Science and Engineering students | 1,926,094 |
| Allocations according to success in recruiting and retaining part-time Science and Engineering students | 800,000 |
| Other adjustments to Core Funding for Teaching | (89,158) |
| Adjustment to GR | (17,919) |
| Adjustments to Non-Formula Funding allocations | 1,936,115 |
| Total | 5,288,347 |
4. The allocations of formula capital funding for 1996-97 are unchanged from those announced in Circular 4/96.
5. The final grant allocations for 1996-97 are given in Table 1; Table 2 provides a comparison with the allocations for 1995-96, taking into account the reallocation of holdback funds.
Contract Student Numbers (CSNs)
6. Institutions were advised of their indicative contract student numbers for 1996-97 on 29 May 1996. These already took account of some of the additional allocations referred to at paragraph 3. Since then, other adjustments to recurrent funding for teaching have led to some minor revisions to the CSNs for some institutions. All revisions have been incorporated in each institution's funding agreement for 1996-97, which forms Part 2 of the Financial Memorandum.
Maximum Aggregate Student Numbers (MASNs)
7. Circular 4/96 announced the distribution of 738,888 MASNs for 1996-97. The revisions to the recurrent funding for teaching shown at paragraph 3 have resulted in 595 additional MASNs being allocated. The revised MASNs for 1996-97 are given in Table 3 and have also been included in Part 2 of the Financial Memorandum.
Conditions of Grant
8. The Council's grants to institutions are conditional on the funds being used for the eligible activities set out in paragraph 65(2) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The conditions of grant which apply to funding for 1996-97 are set out in the revised Financial Memorandum between the HEFCE and institutions (Circular 5/96), and in Part 2 of the Financial Memorandum. The sections of the revised Financial Memorandum relating to estate management and borrowing took effect from 1 April 1996; the remaining sections came into force on 1 August 1996.
9. The Council's grants are also conditional upon institutions' delivery of teaching and research. Institutions have recently been sent their funding agreement for 1996-97, which forms Part 2 of the Financial Memorandum between the HEFCE and each institution. This states the CSNs that the institution is required to deliver in exchange for the funding for teaching. If institutions fail to deliver their CSNs the Council will withhold a proportion of that funding.
10. Institutions in receipt of Council funding for research in 1996-97 are required to account for the use of these funds in accordance with Circular 4/94. Returns are due by 31 August 1996.
11. Institutions are required to take account of the principles in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's statement of 18 September 1995 on public sector pay, particularly the need to cover higher pay costs by efficiency improvements.
12. Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the Council requires the Governing Bodies of every institution to publish a disability statement at such intervals as may be specified. The form of the statements is set out in Circular 8/96 'Specification for Disability Statements Required from Institutions'.
Audit of Funding Data
13. The allocations of funds for teaching and research are informed by the data collected from institutions. The Council will continue to audit these data selectively in this and future funding exercises.
14. The Council will make a number of audit visits, covering the full range of data provided by institutions to inform the 1996-97 funding allocations. In addition the Council may use data which institutions provide to the Higher Education Statistics Agency to verify the data they provide directly to the Council.
Sanctions
15. The revised Financial Memorandum between the HEFCE and Institutions included requirements on providing information. These include the sanction that if an institution fails to provide the data required by the Council for funding purposes by the specified deadline, or if those data are not of a satisfactory quality, some of its funding may be withheld, up to a maximum of 0.1 per cent of the institution's total formula recurrent grant.
16. The data required during 1996-97 will be the 1996 Higher Education Students Early Statistics (HESES) Survey, the 1996 Redistribution Survey and the 1996 Research Activity Survey, or such other surveys as may replace these surveys as a result of the consultation on the Council's funding methods for teaching and research. These data enable the Council to monitor the delivery of teaching and research during 1996-97 and inform the Council's consideration of funding for 1997-98.
17. If the Council finds that the data on which allocations have been based have resulted in institutions receiving allocations higher than they would have received if the surveys had been properly completed, then the funding for those institutions may be reduced accordingly.
Further Information
18. Institutions requiring further information should contact their Regional Officer.