Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that schools are able to (a) carry out repairs, (b) heat their buildings and (c) provide after-school activities during the cost of living crisis.

The Department provides annual condition funding to schools and those responsible for school buildings to improve and maintain the school estate. The Department has committed over £13 billion since 2015, including £1.8 billion this financial year.

The Department also publishes several resources to support schools and their responsible bodies to effectively manage their estates and meet their legal duties. This includes good estate management for schools, in addition to guidance on specific issues such as managing asbestos, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete and cladding.

Schools are being supported with their energy bills through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which will run until at least 31 March 2023. This will protect schools from high energy costs and give them greater certainty over their budgets over the winter months. The details of the scheme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bill-relief-scheme-help-for-businesses-and-other-non-domestic-customers. Schools are also being supported by cash increases to the core schools budget, including a £4 billion increase this financial year.

Schools are best placed to understand and meet the needs of their pupils and have flexibility to decide what range of extra-curricular activities to offer. Both Pupil Premium and Recovery Premium can be used to fund enrichment activities. In March 2022, the Department updated its guidance to make this clear to schools.

The Department also supports a range of specific initiatives to expand access to high quality, extra-curricular activities, including the Holiday Activities and Food Programme and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The Department is developing guidance to support schools to navigate the resources available to develop their extracurricular activities.