Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to provide additional support to schools for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities for their energy costs.

The 2022 Autumn Statement announced that the core schools budget will increase by £2 billion in 2023/24 and a further £2 billion in 2024/25, over and above totals announced in the 2021 Autumn Budget and Spending Review. This brings the core schools budget to a total of £58.8 billion in 2024/25. This additional funding will be used to support both mainstream schools and Local Authorities’ high needs budgets, including funding for special schools. The Department will set out plans for allocation shortly.

Schools are receiving support from the Government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which is running until April 2023 and limits increases in schools’ energy bills over the winter months.

All schools can access the Department’s Schools Resource Management (SRM) guidance. The SRM includes a range of practical tools and information to help schools unlock efficiencies, which they can then redistribute in line with their own priorities.

The Department continues to monitor the financial health of schools.