Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme on schools (a) in Witham constituency and (b) Essex.

Schools are eligible for 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 in Witham are attracting £61.7 million in total this financial year through the National Funding Formula (NFF), a 3.5% cash increase. This reflects 2.7% more per pupil in their pupil-led funding compared to the 2021/22 financial year. Schools’ actual allocations in the 2022/23 financial year will be based on local authorities’ local funding formulae. On top of this funding through the NFF, schools in Witham are seeing a further £1.8 million through the schools supplementary grant.

Through the dedicated schools grant and the schools supplementary grant for mainstream schools combined, Essex is seeing an extra £68.2 million for schools in the 2022/23 financial year, an increase of 5.8% per pupil, this per pupil funding increase excludes ‘growth’ funding. This takes total funding for the 2022/23 financial year in Essex to over £1.05 billion.

The Department knows that every school’s circumstances are different. Schools in serious financial difficulty should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.