Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that schools can continue to supply essential classroom materials in the context of increases to the cost of living.

This Government has invested significantly in schools funding, which will help schools manage their costs. Overall, core schools funding (including funding for both mainstream schools and high needs) is increasing by £4 billion in the 2022/23 financial year, compared to the previous year.

Schools will also benefit from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which is running from 1 October 2022 until at least 31 March 2023. This will reduce how much schools will need to spend on their energy and give schools greater certainty over their budgets over the winter months. The details of the scheme can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bill-relief-scheme-help-for-businesses-and-other-non-domestic-customers.

HM Treasury will lead a review to consider how to support households and businesses, including schools, with energy bills from April 2023.

The Department established Oak National Academy as its new arm’s length curriculum body on 1 September 2022, providing schools with continued access to completely optional, free, adaptable curriculum resources.

The Department’s Schools Resource Management offer also includes a free range of practical tools and information to help all schools unlock efficiencies which they can then reinvest based on their own priorities. Further information can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/schools-financial-health-and-efficiency.

It is for Head Teachers to decide how best to manage their budgets, as they know best how to support the needs of their pupils with the budget available. The Department knows that every school’s circumstances are different. If schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.