PSDS for schools: PSC scheme guide, £510 ceiling, eligibility wizard

PSDS Phase 3c: first-come-first-served and oversubscribed

Phase 3c opened for applications on 10 October 2023 on a first-come-first-served basis, with up to £230m available for 2024/25 [Salix]. Demand prepared from Phase 3a and 3b experience meant the window was heavily oversubscribed. This is the formative Phase 5 lesson for bursars.

Oliver Wakefield-Smith

Founder · Digital Signet

Verified for Phase 4 (final phase) · refresh expected on any Salix or DESNZ policy change

Why it filled so fast

Bidders queued ahead of the window with feasibility studies, GCC calculations and pre-filled portal entries. On a first-come-first-served basis the £230m sub-phase budget was committed quickly to fully eligible applications.

Demand vs budget

Demand exceeded the available budget by a wide margin [Salix]. Many fully eligible bids missed out purely on queue position.

What changed for Phase 4

For Phase 4, Salix replaced the first-come queue with a targeted-allocation model that ranks applications by Grant Carbon Cost and sorts them into tiers by sector, rather than time of submission [DESNZ].

Implications for Phase 5

If Phase 5 mirrors 3c on queue mechanics, the application must be pre-filled before open. If it inherits Phase 4 targeted-allocation mechanics, Grant Carbon Cost discipline is the binding edge.