Hundreds of academy leaders have warned ministers of their 鈥済rave concerns鈥 about schools鈥 ability to stay afloat if government fails to provide extra cash despite soaring inflation. Trust chiefs have written a joint letter to prime minister Liz Truss and education secretary Kit Malthouse, voicing alarm over plans to find 鈥渆fficiencies鈥 in government spending. Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng denied a return to , but said he was committed to budgets set at the 2021 spending review. Chief secretary to the Treasury Chris Philps also made similar comments last week, and that he would write to departments asking them to find 鈥渆fficiencies鈥. It follows market turmoil over unfunded tax cuts in the government鈥檚 recent mini-budget. Leora Cruddas, chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, and other signatories told ministers in the letter that trusts are 鈥渃oncerned鈥 by Philp鈥檚 comments – and by 鈥渟peculation鈥chool budget cuts will follow national insurance changes鈥. More than 350 trust leaders signed the letter, representing around one in eight academy trusts nationwide. Schools Week reported on Friday the Treasury will claw back an estimated 拢300 million a year from the Department for Education, after axing the national insurance hikes it was allocated to cover for schools. Leaders wrote that such comments and speculation 鈥渇urther undermine fiscal confidence that our members should have in balancing budgets and preparing for audits鈥. The letter adds: 鈥淲e write to you to seek clarification on the position and to state again our very grave concerns about the viability and sustainability of schools and trusts if there is no further investment in school funding within this term of parliament.鈥 CST represents trusts with more than 6,600 of around 10,000 academies in England. Its intervention comes on the eve of Truss’ speech to the Conservative party conference in Birmingham on Wednesday. It called for a meeting to discuss 鈥渟olutions that would alleviate these significant challenges鈥. The letter notes the spending review was 鈥渂ased on much lower inflation levels鈥. Recent energy relief measures will help, but only provide 鈥渟hort-term鈥 respite. Schools face overall cost pressures that are 鈥渦naffordable within existing budgets鈥. Inflation is wider than energy costs, and public sector pay awards made after budgets were set are 鈥渦naffordable鈥. The Institute for Fiscal Studies, a widely respected think tank, recently highlighted an 拢18 billion shortfall between public services budgets promised at the spending review, and how much they are worth now as inflation has eroded their value. A total of 拢3.4 billion would be needed to maintain the settlement’s value today for the Department for Education, according to its researchers. Director Paul Johnson also said yesterday not raising budgets to match inflation will mean a “real-terms cut in their generosity” and “squeeze public services”. But he said it will “not be enough to plug the fiscal hole the chancellor has created for himself” through his mini-budget. The government’s U-turn on tax cuts for the highest earners is also of “limited fiscal significance”. “Unless he also U-turns on some of his other, much larger tax announcements, he will have no option but to consider cuts to public spending.” A Department for Education spokesperson said: 鈥淲e understand that schools 鈥 much like wider society 鈥 are facing cost pressures due to international events driving up inflation and global energy prices.” She said all schools would benefit from the energy relief scheme, capping bills and giving “greater certainty over their budgets over the winter months”. 鈥淲e are supporting schools with 拢53.8 billion this year in core funding, including an increase of 拢4bn this year compared to 2021-22.”
andy 4 October 2022 The so called 7% per pupil increase in 2022-23 for schools is not true. I work for a LA in schools finance and our LA budgets for schools was more like a 2.5% increase.