Management Information Sheet

We have been notified from the Department for Education (DfE) regarding a change on how schools should contribute revenue funds to capital.

Schools can longer transfer revenue to capital before the expenditure has occurred. The DfE has clarified that funds would remain in the revenue budget and be classified as a "committed revenue balance" at year end and we will provide some further guidance on how this impacts your analysis of balances return in due course.

Therefore, schools will hold onto their funds until the project is complete, with the transfer of funds taking place at the end of the project. If a project is part-complete at year end, then a journal will take place to transfer the funds from revenue to match the expenditure already processed.

Those schools that currently have a surplus balance lodged against the project code ECAPAA will remain, but schools will be required to spend these funds based on their previously submitted project plan. We will be undertaking some monitoring of these funds and schools will be written to in due course.

The processes in place for spending capital, whether that be via Devolved Formula Capital (DFC/ECAPFM) or via a special project (ECAPAA) has not changed:

• School to complete DFC application/request form via MySchools for project approval. Schools to select Buildings, then Devolved Formula Capital and finally online form
• School to be notified from the capital project team that acknowledges approval
• If a revenue contribution is required and it is no more than already spent from DFC, the capital funding team will transfer the amount from revenue to capital, but only when the project is complete. All expenditure should be coded to ECAPFM.
• If a revenue contribution is required above any capital already spent, then the school must submit evidence in the form of governor's minutes to the capital funding team with the approval to journal revenue funds to capital. There is also a requirement to submit the evidence as part of the DFC application/request form submission. The minutes must contain the project detail and the amount which will be checked against the DFC application/request form. All expenditure should be coded to the project code ECAPAA. If this code is not available in Star Accounts then schools can set this up via the records tab, capital code icon and create the code ECAPAA.

The capital funding team will monitor ECAPFM & ECAPAA and will contact schools to check on project progress and advise when revenue contributions to capital will be required.

EducationFinance will collaborate with the capital funding team to ensure support is provided where required.

It will be the responsibility of the school to ensure that funds are available when the project is complete (or part-complete) when the revenue to capital transfer takes place.