School leaders will be “worried” after the chancellor delivered a statement U-turning on several of the Treasury’s mini-budget measures but delivering “no good news for schools”, one teachers’ union has warned.
Speaking this morning, new chancellor Jeremy Hunt scaled back the government’s energy support package and ditched “almost all” of the tax cuts announced by his predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng, less than a month ago.
Mr Hunt announced that the plan to cap the cost of energy for all households for two years would now end in April, with targeted help beyond that for those most in need.
The change will not affect schools directly, as the support for non-domestic customers - which includes schools - is only guaranteed for six months anyway. But Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said many heads would be worried about what the statement “could mean”.
“We need urgent clarification that the government will continue to support schools beyond the initial six-month period previously announced,” he added.
School funding: fears over Jeremy Hunt’s statement
In a televised statement, the chancellor - who only took office on Friday - warned of more “tough” decisions to come.
Mr Hunt insisted at the weekend that fresh “efficiency savings” will need to be made to address the country’s economic issues, and said yesterday that he was “not taking anything off the table”.
Mr Whiteman said: “We all now wait to see whether or not the financial statement made this morning brings some certainty and calm to the markets. However, one thing is clear: there was no good news for schools or other public services.
“School leaders will rightly fear the chancellor’s suggestion that further savings will need to be found. We need to be very clear that school budgets are already at - and, indeed, beyond - breaking point. It would be a disaster if any of the mooted efficiency savings have an impact on school budgets.
“Schools are already financially stretched to the bone. They have made all the easy savings. All that is left are very hard decisions with big consequences.”
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, echoed Mr Whiteman’s comments, saying: ”There are no guarantees beyond the initial six-month period for the energy support plan. We need urgent clarity in order to plan and prepare.”
“The suggestion that further cuts need to be made across departments will alarm school and college leaders,” he added.
The government announced details of a energy bill relief scheme, which will cut gas and electricity prices for many schools this winter, last month.
The government has said the scheme will run for an initial six-month period, meaning support will end after 31 March, and this has not changed.
At the time of announcing the scheme, it said that it would publish a review into the operation of the scheme later this year to “inform decisions on future support after March 2023” and that the review will focus in particular on “identifying the most vulnerable non-domestic customers and how the government will continue assisting them” with energy costs.
But school leaders called for more clarity on the length of the scheme at the time, with Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, calling the cut-off date a “glaring” issue.
Today’s announcement will cause further concern for leaders looking for more certainty in the near future.
