On Wednesday the Government announced support for businesses with energy costs. Also included in those who will see half their energy bills covered by the Government are organisations in the voluntary sector like charities and the public sector such as hospitals and schools.
Commenting on the news announced by the Business Secretary, Peter Shreeve, Assistant District Secretary of the National Education Union, said,
“The Government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme provides a still painful cost limit of £211 per megawatt hour for electricity and £75 per MWH for gas, especially as it does not compensate schools directly for the rise in wholesale energy costs.
“Schools are still paying vastly more for their energy than was expected a year ago. Indeed, one primary headteacher told me last term, as their fixed tariff came to an end, they expected a £29k annual increase. A painful impact on education budgets and that was before this term’s increase.”
Shreeve: Schools need a long-term solution
Mr Shreeve went on to say,
“No Winter lasts forever, but with only six months of support until March 2023 and as yet no extra government compensation funding direct to schools for extra energy costs. Budgets will need to stretch yet further.
“Schools need a long-term solution which meets costs, not a series of hasty and poorly considered short-term deals. Energy bills are a symptom of the wider problem in education funding. Funding remains lower in real terms than it was in 2010, and the meagre pay rise for teachers has not been funded by government.
“The situation was summed up by Albus Dumbledore in the Goblet of Fire: ‘Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it.’
“Unless funding is significantly improved, schools will have little option but to increase class sizes, cut subject choice, and reduce additional support.”
Image: Deleece Cook under CC BY 2.0
