Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2021 to Question 53964 on Schools: Energy, what assessment he has made of the impact of the rise in energy costs on schools.

The department recognises that schools may be facing pressures this winter, including where energy prices have increased. School funding remains one of the department’s key priorities, which is why the 2021 Spending Review secured an additional £4.7 billion in the core school budget by the 2024-25 financial year compared to previous plans. The settlement includes a further £1.6 billion in the 2022-23 financial year, which is over 2021-22 levels, on top of the £2.4 billion increase already announced as part of the 2019 spending round. This additional funding will help the school sector respond to the pressures we know they are facing, for example on energy costs and national insurance contributions from April 2022.

The department will make announcements on the breakdown of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 core school budget in due course, as well as the distribution of the additional £1.6 billion of funding confirmed for 2022-23.

Schools will have the flexibility to make their own decisions on how to prioritise their spending to invest in a range of resources that will best support their staff and pupils.

Schools continue to be able to access existing support for financial issues, including a wide range of school resource management tools, and, in serious circumstances, additional funding or advances from local authorities for maintained schools, or the Education and Skills Funding Agency for academy trusts.