Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to allocate additional funding to cover the costs of (a) sickness cover for teachers and (b) sanitation in schools incurred as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

The department recognises that schools are facing pressures. Teachers and school leaders have contributed hugely to the nation’s efforts to respond to the challenges arising from the COVID-19 outbreak, and we are very grateful for their continued hard work.

School funding remains a key priority for the department. The government is increasing funding to deliver year on year, real terms per pupil increases to school funding. This is starting with a £7 billion increase in the core schools budget by the financial year 2024-25, compared with the financial year 2021-22, taking total funding to £56.8 billion by 2024-25.

Future increases in funding have been frontloaded to rapidly get money to schools. In the financial year 2022-23 alone, core schools funding will increase by £4 billion, compared to 2021-22. This represents a 5% increase in real terms per pupil boost. This will help schools rise to the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak, increase teacher pay, and meet the cost of the Health and Social Care Levy, while continuing their work to raise attainment.

Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, schools have continued to receive core funding, regardless of any periods of reduced attendance. Schools have the flexibility to make their own decisions on how to prioritise their spending to invest in a range of resources and activities that will best support their staff and pupils. Schools will be able to use their existing budgets to help with the costs associated with COVID-19 absences.

The department re-introduced the COVID-19 workforce fund in the autumn term to provide financial support to eligible schools and colleges. The fund has been extended until Easter to cover the cost of term-time staff absences experienced between 22 November 2021 and 8 April 2022. The fund is available to support schools and colleges facing the greatest staffing and funding pressures to continue to deliver face-to-face, high-quality education to all pupils.

All schools can access a range of school resource management tools to help them get the best value from their resources. Schools in financial difficulty should contact the Education and Skills Funding Agency or their local authority.