Alex Easton has welcomed the moves that have been made to help with school energy costs but is seeking details on the proposed Northern Ireland scheme and called for an adequate budget to help educational services cope.
Speaking after receiving the answer to the question he tabled to the Education Minister the North Down MLA stated;
“School are going to have to find 13.3 million pounds in the 2022-3 financial year and this is with the anticipated provisions for Northern Ireland the details of which I wish to scrutinise.
Credit to the Education Authority for seeking to mitigate these effects over the past 2 years with an independent energy advisor focusing on purchase prices, tariff changes and hedging purchase prices on behalf of schools. However future budgeting has to take into account this 13.3 million pound additional estimate”
Mr Easton MLA concluded by noting that this £13.3 million is in addition to a some £4.4 million pressure for services such as school meals and transport.
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