News item | 11-21-2022 | 19:44
From next spring, approximately 400 million euros will be structurally allocated for schools and government-funded cultural institutions. With this money, the higher costs due to inflation and especially the rising energy bill can be absorbed. The government announced this today in the Autumn Memorandum that was sent to the House of Representatives. This is an exceptional measure, which was taken because actual inflation in 2022 was significantly higher than initially expected. This is mainly due to the unexpectedly high increase in energy prices.
In the past period, many schools and cultural institutions have had to deal with sharply increased costs, mainly due to the unexpectedly sharp rise in energy costs. The ministry is currently investigating how this money can best be distributed. In addition, it is also examined whether a regulation is necessary for institutions that are more than average to deal with rising energy costs. More information about this will follow shortly.
It is possible that the extra money is not enough for some schools or institutions. The ministry is currently investigating how many schools or institutions this concerns. If the increased costs cause a school or cultural institution to run into acute financial problems, it can report to the ministry. In consultation with the Ministry, the best solution is then examined for each situation.
The indexation announced in the Autumn Memorandum also applies to the Municipal and Provincial Funds, from which governments can finance local cultural institutions, among other things.
Spring note
Every year the budget is adjusted for rising wages or inflation, for example. In 2022, this price increase, mainly due to the increased energy costs, will be considerably higher than estimated when the budget for 2022 was drawn up . The exact percentage by which the costs have increased is calculated precisely in the 2023 Spring Memorandum. For the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, this will involve approximately 400 million euros. How this money is distributed among the various OCW sectors will become clear later.