Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of school funding allocations to meet increased costs associated with (a) energy, (b) staffing and (c) materials in the 2025-26 financial year.

School funding is increasing by £3.7 billion in financial year 2025/26, meaning that core school budgets will total £65.3 billion, compared with £61.6 billion in 2024/25.

In May, the government announced a further £615 million of additional funding for schools in 2025/26 to support them with their overall costs, including staff pay awards. Schools will, on average, be expected to find the first 1% of pay awards through plans to realise and sustain better value from existing spend. Schools will not be alone in making these decisions. The department will support schools to tackle the systemic issues that drive costs and prevent schools getting the best value for money, such as with energy, through our Energy for Schools Service.