School energy costs nearly tripled in Bolton in the last academic year, new figures show – the largest rise of any local authority.

Figures from the Department for Education show £6.01m was spent on energy for local authority-run schools in the borough in the 2022-23 academic year – nearly three times more than the £2.09m spent the year before.

Schools in Bolton also spent £200 per pupil on energy in 2022-23, up from £70 the year before.

Robert Poole, assistant district secretary at Bolton's branch of the National Education Union, said: “Sixty three per cent of schools in Bolton have already faced cuts since 2010.

“This adds up to £14m worth of cuts or an average of £290 per pupil.

“For some schools this figure is far higher.

“The school cuts website shows that Bolton St Catherine's Academy alone has seen over a million pound in cuts, Turton over three quarters of a million, Thornleigh nearly £900,000.

“Imagine what this money could be spent on.

“Soaring energy costs caused by the greed of energy companies - and the seeming lack of any desire by the government to stand up to them - adds further pressure to already stretched budgets.

“These cuts have to come from somewhere and what it usually means is cuts to essential school services and resources.

“For our children, rising class sizes, reduced subject choice and less individual support.

“For teachers it means more real terms pay cuts, more unmanageable workloads, and less time to teach each child.

“Added to this the fact that our aging schools are now in drastic need of repair due to their age and the cancellation of the building schools for the future project means that headteachers are having to deal with leaky, draughty, energy inefficient buildings that are falling apart.

“While the government will claim that they are responsible for the highest school funding in history the reality is that funding is still below 2010 levels.

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“We need immediate investment from central government to at the very least restore real terms funding levels but in the long term what is needed is massive investment in education and a rebuilding programme.

“For this reason, I would encourage all NEU members to vote to take strike action if the government does not commit to further school funding.”

A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “Over the last 3 years UK wholesale energy prices have seen unprecedented levels of price volatility and record high prices.

“The timeframe for these price increases impacting local authorities will depend on when their energy contracts are renewed and were therefore exposed to the higher wholesale price.

“For Bolton Council, almost all of the impact of the higher prices were contained within the 2022/23 contract period.”

Across England, expenditure on energy for local authority-maintained schools hit £485m in 2022-23 – a 61 per cent increase on the year before, when £302m was spent.

Almost every local authority saw a rise, with 74 per cent recording their highest spending on record.

The Local Government Association, a membership body for local authorities, said many schools have been voicing concerns about their financial stability.

Louise Gittins, chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People’s Board, said schools are facing higher costs from "fuel, energy and food for school meals, alongside the need to fund agreed staff pay rises, and support for a growing number of pupils experiencing disadvantage".

Separate analysis of energy efficiency ratings suggests many English school buildings are underperforming.

Across England, a fifth of all school buildings receiving display energy certificates last year were in the lowest, most polluting categories (E to G) – meaning they are not up to standard.

However, this does represent an improvement – in 2018, around a third of ratings were in these categories.

DECs are designed to show the energy performance of public buildings, using a scale from "A" to "G" - "A" being the most efficient and "G" being the least.

Of the 16,700 buildings receiving a certificate, just 55 were rated A, and 831 received a B.

In Bolton, there was a total of 145 schools as of December 31, 2023, with 86 of them receiving display energy certificates last year.

And 19 of the 86 school buildings rated last year were in the worst categories – emitting the most carbon dioxide and wasting more energy.

An estimated 54 per cent of schools in the area had a building evaluated last year.

These figures include academies and independent schools. Larger buildings require energy certificates more regularly, so bigger schools may be overrepresented in the figures.

Bolton Council is responsible for approximately 50 school buildings across the borough, not all of the school buildings.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We know that schools have faced increased energy bills.

"We took account of this and made additional investment in total school funding to cover costs – a £4bn increase in 2022-23, and a further £3.9bn this year.

"School funding is rising to more than £59.6bn next year – the highest ever level in real terms per pupil."

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