Schools: Energy
(asked on 12th December 2022) - View Source
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have (a) applied for capital funding for energy efficiency upgrades in each of the last five years and (b) been granted that funding.
The Department has allocated over £13 billion in condition funding since 2015 for maintaining and improving school facilities in England, including improving energy efficiency.
All new buildings delivered through the School Rebuilding Programme will also be energy efficient and designed to be net zero carbon in operation.
In addition, schools can access capital funding for energy efficiency and carbon reduction upgrades in schools through Salix Finance Ltd., a non-departmental public body under the sponsorship of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Prior to 31 March 2021, schools could access Salix funding through three routes: (1) the Salix Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme for maintained schools, (2) Salix Energy Efficiency Fund (SEEF) for academies, with applications administered by Salix, and (3) through the Department’s Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).
From the financial year 2018/19, the Department managed funding of schemes (2) and (3) as follows:
Year | Applied for SEEF project | Successful Schools and Colleges | Proportion Successful |
2018/19 | 459 | 277 | 60% |
2020/21 | 331 | 179 | 54% |
Year | Applied for Salix Loan as part of CIF bid | Successful Schools and Colleges | Proportion Successful |
2018/19 | 467 | 184 | 39% |
2019/20 | 444 | 194 | 44% |
2020/21 | 568 | 348 | 61% |
2021/22 | 415 | 209 | 50% |
Since 1 April 2021, the Department has continued to work with BEIS to help schools and colleges access the £1.4 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme funded by BEIS and administered through Salix. Up to £635 million was made available through phase 3b of the scheme, in October 2022, for installing low carbon heating and energy efficiency measures in public buildings, with a minimum of 30% going to schools and colleges. This will help to cut emissions and save on energy bills.
In the CIF round for 2022/23, the Department has introduced a new assessment criterion of environmental sustainability, worth a maximum of four points of the 100 points available in assessment. Applications made and awarded were as follows:
CIF round | Applied with 'Increase in Energy Efficiency' = "Yes" in Application Form | Successful Schools and Colleges | Proportion Successful |
2022/23 | 1861 | 957 | 51% |
The Department is now assessing applications submitted to the CIF round for 2023/24 and will announce the outcomes in May 2023 at the earliest.