The education secretary has said he is “looking very carefully” at additional help for schools with “acute” energy bill rises, after months of pressure from leaders over soaring costs.
In an interview with Times Radio today, Nadhim Zahawi said that energy costs were about 1.4 to 1.5 per cent of a school’s budget, but for schools that were out of contract - which he described as a “minority” - that figure could jump to 7, 8, 9 or even 10 per cent. He said the Department for Education (DfE) was looking “very carefully” at this.
Mr Zahawi added that the spending review settlement he had negotiated with the Treasury last year had included some “head room”, to allow for expected inflation.
Asked directly whether some extra money could go to schools that were struggling with bill rises, the education secretary said: “So, I am looking to see how I can help those, if they are out of contract, partly to help them get the best deal but also to see, where that pressure is really acute, how we can help them.”
He also said he was “looking” at the extra food costs that some schools were facing as a result of shortages and inflationary pressures.
But Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that, while the commitment from Mr Zahawi was “reassuring”, schools need “cast-iron guaranteed funding to help them weather the storm on energy prices”.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union the NAHT, said his organisation has been “extremely clear in our call for government to do more to ease the impact of the energy crisis on schools” and also said that, while Mr Zahawi’s comments were “encouraging”, what schools need now is quick, “decisive action”.
“Increased energy costs mean that money which should be spent on pupils will end up being paid to energy companies instead. This can only have a negative impact upon our children’s education. We look forward to hearing further from the secretary of state on the support measures that are so urgently needed,” he said.
Schools leaders have consistently warned about rising energy prices for several months. Earlier this year, Tes heard that schools were faced with “gambling” over their future energy deals, with concerns that soaring costs could lead to job cuts.
But when initially asked in February if schools would receive extra support, the DfE said energy price rises “would have a relatively small impact on a school’s budget overall” - a statement that school leaders said they were “astonished” to hear.
Mr Barton also hit back at the education secretary’s assertion that schools have “head room” in their budgets to deal with cost rises, saying that leaders will “vehemently disagree”.
“Quite where the education secretary feels this head room lies will be a complete mystery to school and college leaders, who are having to make very difficult spending decisions on a daily basis,” he said.
Energy market data shown to Tes revealed that the cost of the typical deals available to schools has more than doubled in the past 12 months, and the prices are even higher if schools don’t want to commit to long-term tariffs lasting three to five years, which are typically the cheapest on the market.
Earlier this month, schools were invited to complete a survey setting out how much they are paying for gas and electricity, and whether their contracts are coming to an end.
Schools have also expressed concern about the impact of soaring food costs on budgets. Earlier this week, Andrew Selley, chief executive of Bidfood - one of the UK’s biggest food wholesalers - warned that school caterers may have to serve smaller portions, or use cheaper ingredients, to counter ratcheting costs.
