Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to help support the upskilling of the chemical and materials science and engineering workforce to enable the delivery of a circular economy and green growth.

This Government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy where resources are kept in use for longer and waste is designed out. This systemic change, with investment in green jobs and vital infrastructure, builds a path to economic growth, progress towards Net Zero, restoration of nature, and a more resilient economy.

The Government convened a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts to help map that transition; we will soon publish a Circular Economy Growth Plan that sets out how government will deliver a more circular and more prosperous economy.

The Plan will set out the biggest opportunities to support growth in sectors right across the economy, including chemicals and plastics, as well as: agri-food; built environment; electrical and electronic equipment; textiles; and transport. It will consider critical enablers such including skills and infrastructure.

Defra, in collaboration with experts across Government, industry, academia and relevant non-governmental organisations, will assess what further interventions may be needed across the chemical and materials science and engineering sectors, including any interventions on skills and infrastructure.

We have noted the report Jobs and skills for a circular economy: a cross-sector perspective from the chemical and materials science and engineering communities, by the Institution of Chemical Engineers, the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, and the Royal Society of Chemistry. The report reflects our emphasis on skills development and the chemicals and plastics sector to support the transition towards a circular economy.