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1466405

	registered interest
	date	26/05/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Religion: Education
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the withdrawal element of the Education Act 1944 on (a) a child’s education in religious education lessons and (b) the expectation that schools promote mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Northampton South
	tabling member printed	Andrew Lewer
	uin	9999
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2022 answer text <p>While the department considers religious education (RE) to be an important subject, we respect parental rights and have no plans to change the right of withdrawal. Legislation gives parents the right to request withdrawing their child from all or part of a school’s RE. Parents are not required to give a reason for their requests, which must be complied with. The right of withdrawal from RE does not extend to other areas of the curriculum where religious matters are spontaneously raised by pupils or arise in other subjects such as history or citizenship.</p><p> </p><p>The department believes that the current position is correct, as it balances the rights of parents and of children.</p><p> </p><p>It is, of course, important that schools promote mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. The Education Act 2002 requires schools to ensure the Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural (SMSC) development of all their pupils. There are many opportunities within the curriculum for schools to promote SMSC, including through RE, history, and citizenship. State-funded schools are also required to actively promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 10/06/2022 10:11:30 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4659 label Biography information for Andrew Lewer

1240822

	registered interest
	date	06/10/2020
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	hansard heading	Business: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with Northern Ireland’s business community in areas of localised covid-19 lockdown on the provision of additional financial support to businesses and employees in those areas.
	tabling member constituency	Foyle
	tabling member printed	Colum Eastwood
	uin	99783
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2020 answer text <p>The UK Government remains committed to supporting businesses in Northern Ireland, and across the UK, as they continue to deal with the impact of Covid-19.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to regularly engage with business representatives and businesses on a range of issues, including the response to Covid-19. We will continue to work closely with the Executive to support businesses, jobs and the economy in Northern Ireland.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has provided some of the most generous support packages in the world to support the economy through the pandemic. This includes UK-wide measures such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employed Job Support Scheme and the Job Support Scheme. On 9 October, the Chancellor announced that the Job Support Scheme will be extended so that firms in areas affected by local restrictions will be able to pay staff up to two thirds of employee wages, to a maximum of £2,100 a month, should they legally be required to close. We will continue to support businesses in Northern Ireland and across the UK to build back better.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to these measures, the Government has provided £2.4bn in additional funding to the Northern Ireland Executive as part of our response to Covid-19. This additional funding is being used by the Executive to help support businesses as they deal with the impact of this crisis.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 12/10/2020 16:50:18 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4846 label Biography information for Colum Eastwood

1240691

	registered interest
	date	06/10/2020
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	hansard heading	Radio Telefis Eireann: Broadcasting Programmes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will hold discussions with the Foreign Affairs Minister and the Justice Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive on the funding of a documentary called The Unquiet Graves broadcast on RTE Irish State Television which was broadcast in September 2020.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	99535
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2020 answer text <p>Funding decisions are made at arms length from the Government and the Government does not comment on individual cases.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 12/10/2020 16:35:37 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1400736

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Ofsted: Directors
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether there are measures in place to ensure that the executive board of Ofsted is representative of the demographics of the teaching profession and its pupils in England.
	tabling member constituency	Stockport
	tabling member printed	Navendu Mishra
	uin	99408
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2022 answer text <p>Ofsted has a non-executive board, which is separate from Ofsted’s executive team. The board is responsible for setting the strategic priorities, targets, and objectives for Ofsted and overseeing its corporate governance.</p><p>Appointments to the board are made by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and are conducted in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments which can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-code-for-public-appointments" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-code-for-public-appointments</a>.</p><p>Ofsted’s remit is extensive, covering early years, schools, further education and skills, and social care. When appointing to the Ofsted board, the department ensures that board members have knowledge and understanding of these remits, as well as experience of ensuring good governance.</p><p>The department is committed to ensuring diversity and inclusion. When running recruitment campaigns, the department strongly encourages applications from a diverse range of applicants to secure a diverse and representative board.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 17/01/2022 12:15:37 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4811 label Biography information for Navendu Mishra

1461907

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Supply Teachers: Pay and Workplace Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will intervene to ensure supply teachers employed by agencies and umbrella companies are (a) paid the same rate as those employed directly by a school or local authority and (b) able to access to the Teachers' Pension Scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Stockport
	tabling member printed	Navendu Mishra
	uin	994
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/05/2022 answer text <p>Most supply teacher salaries are paid by supply agencies, and schools can negotiate fees with these agencies. The department trusts schools to agree a fair price for teachers. Supply teachers can register with multiple agencies to find the best pay and conditions to meet their own circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Agency Worker Regulations provides that all workers on assignments that exceed 12 weeks are paid on equal terms as permanent staff after the 12<sup>th</sup> week.</p><p> </p><p>The Teachers’ Pensions Regulations provide for supply teachers participating in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) where they are employed by a scheme employer. These are local authorities, academies, and further education colleges.</p><p> </p><p>Where supply teachers are self-employed or employed by a supply agency and their services are provided under a ‘contract for services’, it is not possible for them to participate in the TPS as there is no organisation to undertake the employer role which includes remitting contributions to the scheme.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 19/05/2022 11:46:04 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4811 label Biography information for Navendu Mishra

1400789

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Ventilation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish data gathered from the 350,000 carbon dioxide monitors distributed to schools across England from September 2021.
	tabling member constituency	Twickenham
	tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
	uin	99399
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2022 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">During the autumn term, the department provided CO₂ monitors to all state-funded education providers. This includes early years, schools, and further education providers, backed by £25 million in government funding. Further information on this can be found here <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-schools-to-receive-carbon-dioxide-monitors" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-schools-to-receive-carbon-dioxide-monitors</a>.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The department has now delivered on our public commitment with over 353,000 monitors delivered. The programme provided schools and other settings with sufficient monitors to take representative readings from across their estate. Feedback suggests that schools are finding the monitors helpful to manage ventilation and, in most education providers, existing ventilation measures are sufficient.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">CO₂ monitors are an additional measure which the department have rolled out to education providers to be used as a guide for where ventilation can be improved. This is not intended to create an additional burden on staff but is an extra tool to support education providers to improve ventilation. It is up to school leaders to decide how to best use them in their specific setting.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">On 2 January 2022, the department announced that 7000 air cleaning units are now being made available for mainstream state-funded providers, in addition to the 1000 units made available for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) settings that we announced in November. Settings can apply for funded units via an online form. Applications are open until 9am on 17 January.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">Before applying for a funded air cleaning unit, the following criteria must be met by mainstream education providers, as set out in the ‘How to apply for a Department for Education-funded air cleaning unit' guidance, which is available on the ventilation document sharing platform:</del></p><ul><li><del class="ministerial">Sustained high CO₂ readings: there have been sustained high CO₂ readings (1500ppm or higher) for at least 1 week while the room is occupied, despite taking all measures possible to introduce ventilation.</del></li><li><del class="ministerial">Lengthy remedial works required in order to address poor ventilation, that cannot be completed before the end of February 2022.</del></li><li><del class="ministerial">Suitable space: air cleaning units will be allocated for teaching spaces only.</del></li></ul><p><del class="ministerial">There are different criteria for SEND and AP settings due the higher-than-average number of vulnerable pupils attending those settings. For these education providers, air cleaning units will also be allocated to poorly ventilated staff rooms. The department will prioritise spaces with the poorest ventilation to receive units based on criteria such as CO₂ readings and occupation density.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The department has also launched an online marketplace which provides settings with a route to purchasing air cleaning units at a suitable specification and competitive price. Further information is available here: <a href="https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning" target="_blank">https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning</a>. In the future, the department may review this list and as more products which meet our specification become available, these will be added. All purchases through the marketplace are managed by the supplier, rather than by the department.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The CO2 monitors funded by the department do not automatically report readings, they are read manually by school staff. CO2 monitors are an additional measure which we are rolling out to education providers to be used as a guide for where ventilation can be improved. This is not intended to create an additional burden on staff but is an extra tool to support providers to improve ventilation. It is up to school leaders to decide how to best use them in their specific school, college or nursery.</ins></p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 12/01/2022 17:00:52 question first ministerially corrected 25/01/2022 12:13:06 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker previous answer version 42765 answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1400788

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Education: Air Conditioning
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) criteria and (b) data were used to determine the destinations of the 7,000 air purifier units announced on 2 January 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Twickenham
	tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
	uin	99398
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2022 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">During the autumn term, the department provided CO₂ monitors to all state-funded education providers. This includes early years, schools, and further education providers, backed by £25 million in government funding. Further information on this can be found here <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-schools-to-receive-carbon-dioxide-monitors" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-schools-to-receive-carbon-dioxide-monitors</a>.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The department has now delivered on our public commitment with over 353,000 monitors delivered. The programme provided schools and other settings with sufficient monitors to take representative readings from across their estate. Feedback suggests that schools are finding the monitors helpful to manage ventilation and, in most education providers, existing ventilation measures are sufficient.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">CO₂ monitors are an additional measure which the department have rolled out to education providers to be used as a guide for where ventilation can be improved. This is not intended to create an additional burden on staff but is an extra tool to support education providers to improve ventilation. It is up to school leaders to decide how to best use them in their specific setting.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">On 2 January 2022, the department announced that 7000 air cleaning units are now being made available for mainstream state-funded providers, in addition to the 1000 units made available for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) settings that we announced in November. Settings can apply for funded units via an online form. Applications are open until 9am on 17 January.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">Before applying for a funded air cleaning unit, the following criteria must be met by mainstream education providers, as set out in the ‘How to apply for a Department for Education-funded air cleaning unit' guidance, which is available on the ventilation document sharing platform:</del></p><ul><li><del class="ministerial">Sustained high CO₂ readings: there have been sustained high CO₂ readings (1500ppm or higher) for at least 1 week while the room is occupied, despite taking all measures possible to introduce ventilation.</del></li><li><del class="ministerial">Lengthy remedial works required in order to address poor ventilation, that cannot be completed before the end of February 2022.</del></li><li><del class="ministerial">Suitable space: air cleaning units will be allocated for teaching spaces only.</del></li></ul><p><del class="ministerial">There are different criteria for SEND and AP settings due the higher-than-average number of vulnerable pupils attending those settings. For these education providers, air cleaning units will also be allocated to poorly ventilated staff rooms. The department will prioritise spaces with the poorest ventilation to receive units based on criteria such as CO₂ readings and occupation density.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The department has also launched an online marketplace which provides settings with a route to purchasing air cleaning units at a suitable specification and competitive price. Further information is available here: <a href="https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning" target="_blank">https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning</a>. In the future, the department may review this list and as more products which meet our specification become available, these will be added. All purchases through the marketplace are managed by the supplier, rather than by the department.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> <p><ins class="ministerial">On 2 January we announced that 7,000 air cleaning units were being made available for mainstream state-funded settings, in addition to the 1,000 units made available for special and alternative provision settings that we announced in November. The government is now committing to fulfil all eligible applications from 1,265 state funded education providers for just over 8,000 air cleaning units.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Please note that applications are now closed. Units were allocated to settings based on need. Before applying for a funded air cleaning unit, the following criteria had to be met by mainstream providers, as set out in the ‘How to apply for a DfE-funded air cleaning unit’ guidance:</ins></p><ul><li><ins class="ministerial">There have been sustained high CO₂ readings (1500ppm or higher) for at least 1 week while the room is occupied, despite taking all measures possible to introduce ventilation.</ins></li><li><ins class="ministerial">Lengthy remedial works are required in order to address poor ventilation, that cannot be completed before the end of February 2022. </ins></li><li><ins class="ministerial">Air cleaning units will be allocated for teaching spaces only.</ins></li></ul><p><ins class="ministerial">There were different criteria for special and alternative provision settings due the higher-than-average number of vulnerable pupils attending those settings. For these providers, air cleaning units were also allocated to poorly ventilated staff rooms. The number of units applied for was just over 8,000, which demonstrates that, in the majority of classrooms and teaching spaces, solutions can already be found to keep ventilation at adequate levels.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The department has also launched an online marketplace which provides settings with a route to purchasing air cleaning units at a suitable specification and competitive price. Further information is available here: <a href="https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning" target="_blank">https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning</a>. In future, we may review this list and as more products which meet our specification become available, these will be added. All purchases through the marketplace are managed by the supplier, rather than by the department.</ins></p></ins></p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 12/01/2022 17:00:52 question first ministerially corrected 25/01/2022 12:13:20 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker previous answer version 42764 answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1400787

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Education: Air Conditioning
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) Dyson Pure Cool Formaldehyde – TP09 and (b) Camfil City M air cleaning units have been purchased by (i) education and (ii) childcare settings through the marketplace opened by the Department.
	tabling member constituency	Twickenham
	tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
	uin	99397
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2022 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">During the autumn term, the department provided CO₂ monitors to all state-funded education providers. This includes early years, schools, and further education providers, backed by £25 million in government funding. Further information on this can be found here <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-schools-to-receive-carbon-dioxide-monitors" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-schools-to-receive-carbon-dioxide-monitors</a>.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The department has now delivered on our public commitment with over 353,000 monitors delivered. The programme provided schools and other settings with sufficient monitors to take representative readings from across their estate. Feedback suggests that schools are finding the monitors helpful to manage ventilation and, in most education providers, existing ventilation measures are sufficient.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">CO₂ monitors are an additional measure which the department have rolled out to education providers to be used as a guide for where ventilation can be improved. This is not intended to create an additional burden on staff but is an extra tool to support education providers to improve ventilation. It is up to school leaders to decide how to best use them in their specific setting.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">On 2 January 2022, the department announced that 7000 air cleaning units are now being made available for mainstream state-funded providers, in addition to the 1000 units made available for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) settings that we announced in November. Settings can apply for funded units via an online form. Applications are open until 9am on 17 January.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">Before applying for a funded air cleaning unit, the following criteria must be met by mainstream education providers, as set out in the ‘How to apply for a Department for Education-funded air cleaning unit' guidance, which is available on the ventilation document sharing platform:</del></p><ul><li><del class="ministerial">Sustained high CO₂ readings: there have been sustained high CO₂ readings (1500ppm or higher) for at least 1 week while the room is occupied, despite taking all measures possible to introduce ventilation.</del></li><li><del class="ministerial">Lengthy remedial works required in order to address poor ventilation, that cannot be completed before the end of February 2022.</del></li><li><del class="ministerial">Suitable space: air cleaning units will be allocated for teaching spaces only.</del></li></ul><p><del class="ministerial">There are different criteria for SEND and AP settings due the higher-than-average number of vulnerable pupils attending those settings. For these education providers, air cleaning units will also be allocated to poorly ventilated staff rooms. The department will prioritise spaces with the poorest ventilation to receive units based on criteria such as CO₂ readings and occupation density.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The department has also launched an online marketplace which provides settings with a route to purchasing air cleaning units at a suitable specification and competitive price. Further information is available here: <a href="https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning" target="_blank">https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning</a>. In the future, the department may review this list and as more products which meet our specification become available, these will be added. All purchases through the marketplace are managed by the supplier, rather than by the department.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The department has launched an online marketplace which provides schools, colleges and nurseries with a route to purchasing air cleaning units at a suitable specification and competitive price. The marketplace is available to view here: <a href="https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning" target="_blank">https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning</a>. In future, we may review this list. As more products which meet our specification become available, these will be added. The education provider transacts directly with the supplier to purchase the units. For in stock items, units will be delivered within 10 days from date of purchase. As of 18 January, 371 Dyson Pure Cool Formaldehyde- TP09 units have been purchased and 66 Camfil City air cleaning units have been purchased.</ins></p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 12/01/2022 17:00:52 question first ministerially corrected 25/01/2022 12:13:30 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker previous answer version 42527 answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1400729

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Teachers: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many retired teachers his Department has asked to return to school in order to ease covid-19 pressures; and how many of those teachers are aged (a) 50 to 59, (b) 60 to 69 and (c) over 70.
	tabling member constituency	St Albans
	tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
	uin	99391
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2022 answer text <p>The department is working to support all schools to remain open for face-to-face education and every ex-teacher that comes forward to help can make a difference to pupils.</p><p>The department’s campaign aims to further bolster the many supply staff that are already working in our schools and who have been throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. The call has just begun, agencies are continuing to recruit new candidates for our schools. The department are extremely grateful to all the teachers who are responding to our call to return temporarily to the classroom.</p><p>The department does not routinely collect data on supply staff, however, we are in close contact with supply agencies to monitor the interest they receive. The findings of our initial survey of agencies were published on Wednesday 12 January and this showed that at least 585 ex-teachers registered interest (between 20 Dec 2021 and 7 January 2022) in returning to the classroom to support schools.</p><p>The department have not asked for any data on the personal characteristics, such as age, of the people who have expressed an interest.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 12/01/2022 17:04:15 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper

1466305

	registered interest
	date	26/05/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Energy
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department will be providing to schools to help ensure they can manage increased energy costs.
	tabling member constituency	Halifax
	tabling member printed	Holly Lynch
	uin	9937
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2022 answer text <p>The department recognises that schools will be facing cost pressures in the coming months, particularly due to the increase in energy prices. We are looking carefully at how this will impact schools and are considering what additional support we could offer.</p><p> </p><p>The department contacted all schools in England to get basic data on their current and future energy tariffs to better understand how they have been affected by recent energy price increases. The survey closed on 2 June 2022, and the responses will be used to understand the impacts of energy cost increases on schools and inform considerations of additional support the department could offer.</p><p>Cost increases should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. The government is delivering a £4 billion cash increase in the core schools budget next year, taking total funding to £53.8 billion. This includes an additional £1.2 billion for schools in the new schools supplementary grant for the 2022/23 financial year. Overall, this represents a 7% cash terms per pupil boost, which will help schools meet the pressures we know they are facing, particularly around energy costs.</p><p> </p><p>All schools can access a range of school resource management (SRM) tools to help them get the best value from their resources, to help them save on regular purchases and reduce non-teaching costs. Our SRM tools include recommended deals for energy costs and ancillary services relating to energy. The department will also update and strengthen guidance on a regular basis to inform schools of the market and commercial position, with practical advice on exiting existing and entering new contracts, available here: <a href="https://www.get-help-buying-for-schools.service.gov.uk/procurement-support" target="_blank">https://www.get-help-buying-for-schools.service.gov.uk/procurement-support</a>. The get help buying for schools service will also be able to offer support to schools in switching and entering new contracts.</p><p> </p><p>The department recognises that every school’s circumstances are different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 10/06/2022 09:52:45 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4472 label Biography information for Holly Lynch