Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to reimburse schools for covid-19 related expenditure in the 2020-21 academic year.

Getting all children and young people back into school for the new academic year has been a national priority. To support schools with this they have continued to receive their core funding allocations throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. Following last year’s Spending Round, school budgets are rising by £2.6 billion in 2020-21, £4.8 billion in 2021-22 and £7.1 billion in 2022-23, compared to 2019-20. On average, schools are attracting 4.2% more per pupil in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20. As stated in our guidance, schools should use these existing resources when making arrangements for this term: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

The Department is aware that all pupils, regardless of their background, have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. We are providing schools with the resources and tools to address lost education so that all pupils may make up lost ground. Our £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package is providing additional funding in the 2020/21 academic year so that schools can support pupils who have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 outbreak: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time.