Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps her Department has taken to help improve the energy efficiency of (a) NHS buildings and (b) other healthcare facilities.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
In October 2020, NHS England set out its net zero carbon ambitions in ‘Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service’, including improving energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption. In October 2021, NHS England set out how it plans to tackle emissions from the National Health Service estate, including through its energy usage.
In 2019, NHS England deployed £5 million of light-emitting diode lighting across its estate through the NHS Energy Efficiency Fund to reduce energy demand and costs. Since its launch, the NHS is deploying a further £611 million of funding through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to support low carbon heating and energy efficiency projects in England. This includes £329 million from the most recent phase of the scheme, which will be delivered from 2022 to 2025. NHS England aims to publish further technical guidance to supports efforts for achieving energy efficient healthcare buildings across its estates.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to revise the guidance on school (a) design and (b) planning in the context of mitigating risks to (i) children, (ii) young people and (iii) staff from high summer temperatures.
Answered by Will Quince
On 14 July 2022, the department published advice for schools and other education settings on what to do during a heatwave. Schools are also able to access advice from the Department for Health and Social Care guidance for schools, and the Health and Safety Executive guidance for employers on how to manage high temperatures.
Schools should continue to carry out their own risk assessments to ensure they create safe and healthy environments for pupils and staff.
In November 2021, the department published the revised output specification, setting out the requirements for all new school and college estates to be net zero carbon and climate resilient to a 2oC and 4oC global warming scenario.
The department allocates capital funding each year to schools and those responsible for school buildings to improve and maintain the condition of the school estate. Condition funding can be used to invest in improving the indoor environment and other sustainability measures. We have committed £13.1 billion to improve the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion allocated for the current financial year.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to manage the risk associated with high temperatures in respect of the physical fabric of the school estate in England.
Answered by Will Quince
On 14 July 2022, the department published advice for schools and other education settings on what to do during a heatwave. Schools are also able to access advice from the Department for Health and Social Care guidance for schools, and the Health and Safety Executive guidance for employers on how to manage high temperatures.
Schools should continue to carry out their own risk assessments to ensure they create safe and healthy environments for pupils and staff.
In November 2021, the department published the revised output specification, setting out the requirements for all new school and college estates to be net zero carbon and climate resilient to a 2oC and 4oC global warming scenario.
The department allocates capital funding each year to schools and those responsible for school buildings to improve and maintain the condition of the school estate. Condition funding can be used to invest in improving the indoor environment and other sustainability measures. We have committed £13.1 billion to improve the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion allocated for the current financial year.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve primary care facilities in Feltham and Heston constituency.
Answered by James Morris
Primary care services in Feltham and Heston are provided from a range of facilities which include purpose-built health centres and a range of privately owned buildings. NHS England advise that Hounslow Borough Based Partnership is being supported by the North West London Integrated Care Board to develop an estates strategy, including primary care facilities. Improvements to Heston Health Centre will be considered in the estates strategy and a review of the Meadows Health Centre is being undertaken as services resume, following its use as a ‘hot-hub’ during the pandemic. A feasibility study for Feltham Health Centre is due to be completed by NHS Property Services on maximising its facilities.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking steps to future proof the schools' estate in order that buildings can adapt in response to potential future periods of extreme heat.
Answered by Will Quince
Schools should continue to carry out their own risk assessments to ensure they create safe and healthy indoor environments for pupils and staff. On 14 July 2022, the department published advice for schools and other education settings on what to do during a heatwave. Schools are also able to access guidance for schools from the Department of Health and Social Care, and guidance for employers from the Health and Safety Executive on how to manage high temperatures.
The department has not made an assessment of the school estate in England during periods of extreme heat.
The department has published guidance, Building Bulletin 101 (BB101), which provides guidelines on air quality and overheating in new and refurbished schools. Information on BB101 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.
The department allocates capital funding each year to schools and those responsible for school buildings to improve and maintain the condition of the school estate. Condition funding can be used to invest in improving the indoor environment and other sustainability measures. The department has committed £13.1 billion to improve the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion allocated for the current financial year.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the schools' estate in providing a (a) safe and (b) suitable learning environment during periods of extreme heat.
Answered by Will Quince
Schools should continue to carry out their own risk assessments to ensure they create safe and healthy indoor environments for pupils and staff. On 14 July 2022, the department published advice for schools and other education settings on what to do during a heatwave. Schools are also able to access guidance for schools from the Department of Health and Social Care, and guidance for employers from the Health and Safety Executive on how to manage high temperatures.
The department has not made an assessment of the school estate in England during periods of extreme heat.
The department has published guidance, Building Bulletin 101 (BB101), which provides guidelines on air quality and overheating in new and refurbished schools. Information on BB101 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.
The department allocates capital funding each year to schools and those responsible for school buildings to improve and maintain the condition of the school estate. Condition funding can be used to invest in improving the indoor environment and other sustainability measures. The department has committed £13.1 billion to improve the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion allocated for the current financial year.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the climate resilience of hospital buildings in England.
Answered by Maggie Throup
NHS England routinely monitors National Health Service facilities using integrated risk assessments. The ‘Third Health and Care Adaptation Report’, published in December 2021 by NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), sets out the approach to assessing and responding to climate risks in the health sector.
The climate resilience of hospital buildings is assessed in the ‘UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2022’ (CCRA3). The Department, NHS England and the UKHSA are developing plans to address the risks in the CCRA3 and improve the climate resilience of the health sector in the third National Adaptation Programme, in line with the United Kingdom’s commitments made through the COP26 Health Programme.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to review the existing guidance on the use of air conditioning units in hospital wards in England.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Guidance is kept under review and updated as appropriate. The existing guidance ‘Specialised ventilation for healthcare buildings’ was updated in June 2021 and is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/specialised-ventilation-for-healthcare-buildings/
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the decision by the Department of Health and Social Care to remove (1) Hikvision, and (2) Dahua, technology cameras from their premises, what plans other government departments have, if any, to also remove those cameras from their premises.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the security arrangements of government buildings. Specific details regarding the make and model of security systems are withheld on national security grounds.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is co-ordinating discussions with (a) Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, (b) Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and (c) Department for Health and Social Care on a definition of health and wellbeing as it applies to the Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Strangford on 16th March 2022 to Question 136558 and to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Health to my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley North on 28th March 2022 to Question 128459.