Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of issuing schools with an energy efficiency assessment and score for the purposes of prioritising schools for energy saving measures.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The department supports energy efficiency improvements through a range of capital funding allocations and programmes, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and saving schools money on energy. Schools and responsible bodies have been provided with guidance on energy efficiency such as minimising energy, water and waste within the Good Estate Management for Schools manual. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools.
In June 2020, the government announced a new school rebuilding programme aimed at replacing poor condition and ageing school buildings. All new school buildings delivered through the programme will be net zero carbon in operation, as well as responding appropriately to the wider aspects of climate change adaptation such as overheating risk, biodiversity net gain and flood resilience.
Schools and those responsible for school buildings have access to condition funding to maintain and improve the school estate, which can be used to invest in improving energy efficiency in schools. Since 2015, the department has allocated £11.3 billion on school condition, including £1.8 billion in the current 2021/22 financial year.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy set up the £1 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) in 2020 which provided grants for eligible public sector bodies, including schools, to fund energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation measures across their estate. Phase 3 of the PSDS will be open for applications from 6 October. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-sector-decarbonisation-scheme.
The department is working across government to understand the most appropriate way to address climate change and improve energy efficiency in support of the legal commitment to net zero by 2050. We will continue to review the support and advice to schools. Further details on capital funding and prioritisation for the period beyond this financial year will be set out at the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated by his Department to schools in York to improve their energy efficiency in each of the last five years.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The department supports sustainability through our capital funding and programmes, both to reduce carbon emissions and save schools money. Responsible bodies, such as local authorities, academy trusts and dioceses can use their capital funding allocations to invest in improving energy efficiency in schools.
Since 2015, the department has allocated £11.3 billion to maintain and improve school buildings, including improving energy efficiency. This includes £1.8 billion for the financial year 2021/22.
Local authorities receive an annual School Condition Allocation (SCA) to invest in capital maintenance and upgrades across the schools for which they are responsible. All schools also receive funding to spend on their capital priorities through an annual Devolved Formula Capital (DFC) allocation.
The SCA and DFC allocated to City of York Council in previous financial years is set out in the table below. The SCA total in 2020/21 includes an extra £377,261 from the additional £560 million announced that year for essential maintenance and upgrades. The DFC total in 2018/19 includes an extra £454,917 from the additional £400 million announced in that year. Large multi-academy trusts and voluntary-aided (VA) school bodies (such as dioceses) also receive SCA. These allocations typically cover schools across multiple local authority boundaries so are not included below. All SCA funding is published on GOV.UK.
Financial Year | SCA for maintained schools | DFC for maintained schools |
2017/18 | £1,464,231 | £360,494 |
2018/19 | £971,129 | £738,904 |
2019/20 | £841,590 | £234,432 |
2020/21 | £1,189,594 | £223,405 |
2021/22 | £1,451,067 | £230,768 |
Total | £5,917,612 | £1,788,003 |
Smaller multi-academy or stand-alone trusts, other voluntary-aided schools and sixth form colleges are able to bid to the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) each year. The department welcomes CIF applications from eligible schools for energy efficiency projects, but only where the project addresses an existing priority condition need.
Funding allocated to schools in York through CIF in the past five years is set out in the table below. The department defined energy efficiency projects as those that have a significantly positive impact on energy efficiency, such as improvements to heating systems and repairs or replacements of windows and roofs, and where improvements in energy efficiency were set out in the CIF application.
CIF round (financial year) | Total funding to schools in York | Funding to energy efficiency projects |
2017/18 | £250,142 | £250,142 |
2018/19 | £2,167,450 | £2,167,450 |
2019/20 | £3,051,832 | £1,650,275 |
2020/21 | £1,368,742 | £983,325 |
2021/22 | £1,216,612 | £0 |
Total | £8,054,778 | £5,051,192 |
The department also invests in centrally delivered programmes. There has been a total of three schools in the York local authority area that have benefited from the Priority School Building Programme, with a total investment of over £9 million. New school buildings are easy to operate and reduce operational energy use. Additionally, Hempland Primary School in York will be part of the new School Rebuilding Programme (SRP). New school buildings delivered under the SRP will be modern, energy-efficient buildings that are net zero carbon in operation, helping to meet the government’s net zero target to tackle climate change.
In addition, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy set up the £1 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) in 2020 which provided grants for eligible public sector bodies, including schools, to fund energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation measures across their estate. Phase three of the PSDS will be open for applications from 6 October.
Alongside this substantial investment in the school estate, the department has provided schools and responsible bodies with guidance on energy efficiency such as minimising energy, water, and waste within our Good Estate Management for Schools manual.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to enable schools to become more energy efficient.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department supports sustainability through our capital funding and programmes, both to reduce carbon and save schools money on energy. Responsible bodies, such as local authorities, academy trusts and dioceses can use their capital funding allocations to invest in improving energy efficiency in schools.
Since 2015, the Department has allocated £11.3 billion to maintain and improve school buildings, including improving energy efficiency. This includes £1.8 billion in the current 2021/22 financial year. In addition, the 10 year school rebuilding programme has been launched with a commitment to 500 rebuilding projects over the next decade. This will replace school buildings that are ageing or in poor condition with modern, energy efficient designs, transforming education for thousands of pupils.
The Further Education Capital Transformation Fund delivers the Government’s £1.5 billion commitment to upgrade the estate of both further education (FE) colleges and designated institutions in England. This will target colleges in the worst condition whilst supporting the Government's objectives on achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Alongside this substantial investment in the school and FE estate, we have provided schools and responsible bodies with guidance on energy efficiency such as minimising energy, water and waste within our Good Estate Management for Schools manual. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy set up the £1 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme in 2020 which provided grants for eligible public sector bodies, including schools, to fund energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation measures. Higher education institutions were also eligible for these grants. Phase 2 of this scheme opened in April 2021 and will allocate £75 million of funding.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to retrofit all education buildings to help achieve the Net Zero target by 2030.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department supports sustainability through our capital funding and programmes, both to reduce carbon and save schools money on energy.
Since 2015, the Department has allocated £11.3 billion to maintain and improve school buildings, including improving energy efficiency. This includes £1.8 billion in the current financial year 2021/22.
In addition, the ten year school rebuilding programme has launched with a commitment to 500 rebuilding projects over the next decade. This will replace poor condition and ageing school buildings with modern, energy efficient designs, transforming education for thousands of pupils.
The Further Education (FE) Capital Transformation Fund delivers the Government’s £1.5 billion commitment to upgrade the estate of both FE colleges and designated institutions in England. This will target colleges in the worst condition whilst supporting the Government's objectives on achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2020, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy set up the £1 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme which provided grants for eligible public sector bodies, including schools, to fund energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation measures. Higher education institutions were also eligible for these grants. Phase 2 of this scheme has recently been announced and will allocate £75 million of funding.
More broadly, the Department is working with colleagues across government on carbon reduction and energy efficiency and developing thinking on how future capital programmes can contribute further.
Further details on capital funding for the period beyond this financial year will be set out at the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how the UK carbon budget contributes to the Government's Climate Change mitigation strategy; and what assessment he has made of what investment is required in educational buildings to retro-fit those building to net zero emissions standards as part of the Build Back Better Strategy.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Climate Change Act 2008 introduced our framework of carbon budgets to mitigate climate change by ensuring continued progress towards our emission reduction target, capping emissions in successive five-year blocks. Through this legal framework and ambitious policy action, we have shown that cutting emissions and growing the economy go hand-in-hand – reducing our emissions by over 43% since 1990 while growing the economy by 78%.
We are going further and faster to mitigate climate change. This year we will set the sixth carbon budget in legislation and publish a Net Zero Strategy ahead of COP26, setting out the Government’s vision for transitioning to a net zero economy.
The Government remains committed to its manifesto pledge to invest £9.2 billion in the energy efficiency of homes, schools, and hospitals, helping to decarbonise buildings to keep us on track to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme is a government-funded grant scheme to help public sector organisations in England, including schools, colleges and universities, and reserved public services across to the UK to install low carbon heating and energy efficiency measures on their estates. On 17th March 2021, £75m of funding was announced for Phase 2 Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Asked by: Lord Knight of Weymouth (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what incentives are in place for schools in England (1) to measure, and (2) to reduce, carbon emissions.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Reduction in energy use in new and existing buildings to meet the net zero carbon emissions by 2050 target is a priority for the UK government.
The department published the Good Estate Management for Schools guidance in April 2018. The guidance includes a section on ‘Energy and water management’, and tips on reducing energy and water use in schools, including measuring energy and water consumption. It also signposts schools to other organisations that provide training, information, and support in relation to sustainability and energy efficiency in schools.
In 2020, the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy setup the £1 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme which provided grants for public sector bodies including schools to fund energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation measures. This scheme has now ended, however, schools can apply for funding through Salix for projects to reduce carbon emissions as well as accessing funding through the department’s own Condition Improvement Fund for improvements to buildings and services within schools which contribute to reducing emissions.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of retrofitting schools, colleges and universities to net-zero emission standards by 2030.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Reduction in energy use in new and existing buildings to meet the legislative zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050 is a priority for the Government.
Schools can use their condition funding to invest in improving energy efficiency. Since 2015, the Department has allocated £9.5 billion to maintain and improve school buildings, including an additional £560 million in financial year 2020-21. The latest Spending Review committed a further £1.8 billion in financial year 2021-22 for maintaining and improving the school estate.
The Further Education (FE) Capital Transformation Fund delivers the Government’s £1.5 billion commitment to upgrade the FE college and designated institutions’ estate in England. This will target colleges in the worst condition and promote efficient use of space and support the government's objectives on achieving net zero carbon.
In 2020, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy set up the £1 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme which provided grants for eligible public sector bodies, including schools and FE colleges to fund energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation measures. Higher education (HE) institutions were also eligible for these grants.
Whilst this scheme has now ended, schools, FE and HE institutions can apply for interest free loans through the government’s Salix scheme for public sector projects that improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress is being made on the retrofitting of homes and buildings to become more energy efficient.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
In the Clean Growth Strategy (2017), the Government set out its ambitions that all properties should be EPC Band C by 2035, where cost-effective, affordable, and practical. We have demonstrated our ambition as properties at EPC Band C has increased from 9% in 2008 to 34% in 2018. In addition, from 1990 to 2019 emissions from homes has reduced by 17%.
The Green Homes Grant will give homeowners and landlords an opportunity to upgrade the energy performance of their homes. We also plan on introducing the Future Homes Standard by 2025, which will help ensure that the homes in the UK will be fit for the future. Homes across the UK will be future proofed with leading energy efficiency and low carbon heating measures. The £50m Social Housing Decarbonisation Demonstrator will make progress toward increasing the energy efficiency of social housing. The £1 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme will offer grants to public sector buildings, including schools and hospitals, to fund both energy efficiency and low carbon heat upgrades.
The Government is also planning to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy in due course, which will set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from all homes and buildings and set buildings on track for net zero.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of retrofitting schools to become zero carbon schools on (a) carbon emissions and (b) behaviour change.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Public Sector Energy Efficiency Loan scheme provides interest-free loans which enable schools, and other public sector organisations, to make improvements to their buildings to reduce carbon emissions. The public sector, including schools, can play an important role in driving wider behaviour change by demonstrating leadership in reducing their emissions.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of retrofitting schools to become zero carbon schools on school budgets.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has allocated £9.5 billion since 2015 to improve the condition of the school estate, including improving energy efficiency. This includes an additional £560 million in capital funding this year, announced by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, in June.
Interest-free loans for energy efficiency projects in maintained schools have also been made available through the Government-backed Salix finance scheme and to academies through an annual application process.
On 29 June, the Government also announced a 10-year school rebuilding programme. This will replace school buildings that are ageing or in poor condition with modern, energy-efficient designs that will help to meet the Government’s net zero target.
More broadly, the Department is working with colleagues across the Government on carbon reduction and energy efficiency and on developing thinking on how future capital programmes can contribute further.
My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has already announced £1 billion to support making public buildings greener, including schools and hospitals, which will help the country meet its ambitions of achieving net zero by 2050.
Further details on future capital funding will be set out at the Spending Review.