Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of (a) recent and (b) anticipated rises in the energy price cap on school budgets; and if he will take steps to support schools with the increase in the cost of energy.

School energy bills are not impacted by the energy price cap, as their energy contracts are commercial rather than domestic.

The department has surveyed all schools in England to get basic data on their current and future energy tariffs to better understand how they have been affected by recent energy price increases. The survey closed on 2 June 2022, and the responses will be used to understand the impacts of energy cost increases on schools and inform considerations of additional support the department could offer.

Cost increases should be considered in the wider context of funding for schools. The department is delivering a £4 billion cash increase in the core schools budget next year, taking total funding to £53.8 billion. This includes an additional £1.2 billion for schools in the new schools supplementary grant for the 2022/23 financial year. Overall, this represents a 7% cash terms per pupil boost, which will help schools meet the pressures we know they are facing, particularly around energy costs.

All schools can access a range of school resource management (SRM) tools to help them get the best value from their resources, save on regular purchases, and reduce non-teaching costs. The department’s SRM tools include recommended deals for energy costs and ancillary services relating to energy. The Get Help Buying for Schools service will also be able to offer support to schools in switching and entering new contracts. Guidance will be updated on a regular basis to inform schools of the market and commercial position, with practical advice on exiting existing and entering new contracts. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/buying-for-schools.

The department understands that every school’s circumstances are different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.