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Denbighshire County Council has welcomed confirmation from the Welsh Assembly Government of the council's increased expenditure on schools for 2008-09.

The report on budgets set by local authorities for education services in 2008-09 confirms that Denbighshire's education net revenue expenditure exceeded the indicator based assessment for the first time.  Denbighshire is one of only three councils in North Wales that spends above the indicator based assessment.

Among the highlights, the report shows that:

-  education net revenue expenditure in Denbighshire rose 5.6% in 2008-09, the highest increase in North Wales and much higher than the Welsh average of 3.3%;
- gross schools expenditure went up by 6.4% in 2008-09, the highest increase in Wales;
- the delegation rate of 76.1% is equal highest in North Wales with Conwy, and higher than the Welsh average of 75.9%. This means that a higher proportion of education budgets is delegated to school governing bodies to decide how to spend;
-  the total expenditure per pupil is £4,910 and has increased by 7.6%, This is the fastest increase in Wales and significantly higher than the Welsh average of 4.8%. It places the council 15th in terms of spend per pupil when it was 19th in 2007-08;
- total delegated expenditure is £3,736 per pupil, which also places the council 15th.

Leader of the council and lead member for education, Councillor Hugh Evans, said  "It is very pleasing indeed to have this confirmation from the Welsh Assembly Government of the effect of our increased spending on schools and education. The council committed itself to prioritised education last autumn and we have delivered that commitment in the budget for 2008-09.

"Now that we spend above the level assumed in the standard spending assessment, we can focus with schools on how performance needs to improve to reflect the increased funding.

"Our expenditure per pupil has seen us jump up the table, which is very welcome. However our ability to increase spending at a similar rate in future years is severely hampered by the low level of Welsh Assembly Government funding, which will see WAG grant for Denbighshire increase by only 2% a year."

“Looking forward to working with schools to make best use of resources for all concerned in years to come.”

Notes
The full report from WAG's statistical directorate can be seen at http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/loc-gov/educa/?lang=en

The indicator based assessment is the element of the standard spending assessment (SSA) formula that relates to education. The indicator based assessment is not intended to be a spending target but many people draw comparisons between it and the actual level of spending.