Early Years Block Grant - Find a freedom of information request

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request the following information:

1) For the financial years 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 (to the extent available), the value of your Early Years Block Grant.

2) the percentage and value you retain within the local authority from your Early Years Block grant.

3) a breakdown of the areas on which you spend the retained amount from your Early Year Block grant (broad areas rather than itemised spending).

4) The value of your SEN Inclusion Fund in each of the last three years.

5) the number of children this spending related to in each of those three years.

6) the number of applications you received for special education needs (SEN) inclusion funding in each of those three years.

1.

2.

2022-2023 £1,561,410 (Central staff costs) and 3.8% of total DSG allocation in 2022/2023
2023-2024 £1,627,333 (Central staff costs) and 3.77% of total DSG allocation in 2023/2024

3. The underspend has been earmarked for the following:

To maximise the universal rate given to providers for three and four year olds, some underspend was allocated to fluctuation fund to meet participation (since the Department for Education (DfE) allocate funding through annual snapshots, whereby local authority’s (LA) allocate to providers based on actual participation).

Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) added the Early Years Supplementary Grant in full onto the existing universal base rates to maximise the hourly rate to providers. The LA used early years (EY) block underspend for the fluctuation fund due to the higher rate being applied from September 2023 to avoid the EY block from overspending.

Early Years initiatives: support for grants to providers to participate in targeted projects specifically linked to SEND priorities, inclusivity of places for children and early intervention.

Investment to the childcare sector to support training and quality improvement programmes to increase Ofsted judgements and improve outcomes for children in Lincolnshire.

4.

5.

6.

2021-2022: Total : Summer term 2021: 319 applications/reviews Autumn term 2021: 184 applications/reviews Spring term 2022: 362 applications/reviews

2022-2023: Total : Summer term 2022: 440 applications/reviews Autumn term 2022: 282 applications/reviews Spring term 2023: 427 applications/reviews

2023-2024: Total : Summer term 2023: 452 applications/reviews Autumn term 2024: 319 applications/reviews

8872186

1 February 2024

21 February 2024