School budgets threatened by rapidly rising operational costs
Throughout the pandemic, schools have taken on significant additional responsibilities and put in place measures to ensure premises are Covid-safe, all at a cost to school budgets, and often without clear offers of compensation from the Government.
With budgets already strained by the pandemic, feedback from schools in our region is increasingly highlighting rapidly growing, unforeseen operational costs, such as rising energy bills, a potential national insurance increase, and difficulties in obtaining supply staff.
The international crisis in demand for gas has meant that the cost of gas and electricity is rising rapidly. All schools will be affected by this, which won’t have been budgeted for in this year or longer term projections. North East SBMs have told us that vastly increased rates are now being quoted for contract renewals, and many schools have been informed by suppliers such as NEPO that they will receive an approximate 50% increase on gas, and over 25% on electricity. One trust predicted, across two schools, this will lead to an additional £18,000 in unforeseen expenditure. Another with one secondary and five primaries, said this would amount ti £56,000 in additional costs. These additional costs may negate energy savings that had been achieved in previous years and threaten budget deficits.
Schools provide an essential service to all children and young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, beyond solely academic support, and gas and electricity are essential in providing these services. These higher utility bills are coming over the winter months, and additionally, many school premises in the North East are older buildings, and more difficult to keep warm efficiently.
Alongside rising costs of utilities, there remains uncertainty about planned Government rises to national insurance contributions. Although the Government has committed to compensating departments and other public sector employers in England, schools urgently need a guarantee that this will also apply to them; DfE has already written to the Treasury for clarification. Schools have also reported rising difficulties in some areas in respect of accessing supply staff as the regional capacity issues around the NTP has drawn capacity into tuition delivery and away from day-to-day school support roles.
Schools in the North East, and across the country, proved to be a fourth emergency service and vital national strategic infrastructure during covid ensuring their communities and young people accessed appropriate support and education. It is crucial now that the Government recognises the role schools have played, by giving them the appropriate resources they need to fulfill their critical roles.