Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, how his Department selected the user groups chosen to feedback on that Strategy.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a range of measures at COP26 to put climate change and sustainability at the heart of education. These included a draft Sustainability and Climate Change strategy for the education and children’s services systems, a new National Education Nature Park and Climate Leaders Award.

From December 2021 to March 2022, user groups of sector representatives and a group of young people, reflecting a diverse range of voices, backgrounds, and experiences, will bring together feedback on the draft Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy from those they represent. Youth representation will also be included in the sector group.

The department will work closely with these groups and with delivery partners across government to refine and build on the strategy ahead of publication of a final version in April 2022.

In recruiting members to each user group, we have been mindful of the need to balance the range of voices with the need for focused and meaningful discussion. The department has used the advice and views of sector leaders and experts to help us select participants in each group, seeking to ensure each one represents a key organisation working in the field or group of recognised stakeholders. This will allow us to more effectively access a broad range of opinions in a short space of time. Organisations such as the Early Years Alliance, teaching unions, Association of Colleges, and UniversitiesUK are amongst the participants and we would encourage interested stakeholders to feed in their views via these representatives.

The department will also continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders through bi-lateral meetings, topic specific workshops and an informal public survey.