Soaring energy bills hit schools

5:20pm Saturday 19th July 2008

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Schools are having to make cuts to cope with the spiralling costs of their energy bills.

Headteachers said they had experienced increases of £50,000 in 18 months as prices for gas and electric had rocketed.

They said the inflated bills, coupled with rises in the costs of exam fees and wages for independent invigilators had stretched budgets so far that cuts would have to be made to the detriment of pupils' education.

Trevor Allen, headteacher of Dorothy Stringer School in Loder Road, Brighton, said: "We are talking about big schools here, power usage is very high so even slight increases have a big impact."

He said his school had seen its power bill, paid as part of a PFI (Private Finance Initiative) contract, increase by more than £50,000 since March 2007.

Opposition Labour councillors have called on Brighton and Hove City Council's Conservative administration to use more than £700,000 of unallocated funds to help the schools.

It said the council had recently received £143,000 from the Government as a reward for growth in the local economy and had saved almost £600,000 in its insurance costs.

A council spokesman said the £143,000 grant was meant specifically to help boost local businesses and the funds would be allocated to do so.