Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what extra financial provision they plan to make available to schools who do not have the budget to meet the requirements of operating safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Getting all children and young people back into school for the new academic year has been a national priority. As of 10 September, over 99% of schools were open to some or all of their pupils. Schools have been able to claim additional funding for exceptional costs incurred due to COVID-19 between March and July, such as additional cleaning required due to confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases and increased premises costs to keep schools open for priority groups during the Easter and summer half term holidays.

Schools have also 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.

As stated in our guidance, schools should use their existing resources when welcoming all children back this autumn.