Rising school food and energy costs continue to bite
Rising catering and energy costs across the education sector are having a significant impact on school budgets.
The increasing financial stresses being placed on the sector has prompted many to call on the Government to do more to help schools who are struggling to provide good quality school meals and meet rising energy costs.
Speaking to Times Radio recently, the then Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said he was “looking very closely” at schools’ costs, including rising energy prices, saying that he recognised energy costs represented “about 1.4, 1.5% of a school’s budget”.
He added: “The schools who are out of contract, which are a minority, that 1.4, 1.5% jumps up to maybe 7, 8, 9, 10%, so we’re looking very carefully at that.”
Mr Zahawi also confirmed that he was looking at the “cost of food into schools as well”, praising schools and their food providers who, he claimed, had been “really good” in trying to limit costs with the inflationary spike.
In his new post as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Zahawi has yet to confirm whether he intends to focus efforts on providing additional finances to help schools specifically deal with rising food and energy bills.
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