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<p>The Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools PFI contract covers two schools and was signed
on 22<sup>nd</sup> December 2003.</p><p>The department’s private finance initiative
(PFI) Revenue Support Grant (RSG) funding for the Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools Project
is paid to the Local Authority, Central Bedfordshire Council, rather than directly
to schools. No payments are made by the department to Bedfordshire Schools Trust Ltd
in relation to the Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools PFI contract. The department has
paid PFI RSG funding of £1,886,314 for each of the last ten years from 2014/15 to
2023/24 to Central Bedfordshire Council. All payments under Mid Bedfordshire Schools
PFI Project to Bedfordshire Schools Trust Ltd are made by Central Bedfordshire Council.</p><p>The
department supports local authorities that entered schools PFI contracts by providing
Revenue Support Grant funding for the term of the PFI contract, which is normally
25 years. Central Bedfordshire Council, as the contracting party to Mid Bedfordshire
Upper Schools Project PFI agreement, combines RSG grant funding from the department,
plus additional funds from their own resources, to pay the PFI unitary charge to the
contractor. The schools within each PFI contract ordinarily contribute towards the
cost of the facilities. This applies equally to maintained schools and to academies.</p><p>The
department also supports schools that have unavoidable extra premises costs related
to their PFI contracts through the ‘PFI factor’ in the schools national funding formula
(NFF). This funding is paid out to local authorities through the Dedicated Schools
Grant (DSG) and is then allocated to schools by local authorities through their own
local formulae.</p><p>The PFI factor only covers unavoidable extra premises costs,
primarily related to the building itself. Costs which all schools face, such as facilities
management and energy costs should be covered by the funding schools receive from
the other formula factors in their local authority’s funding formula.</p><p> </p><p>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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