Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of car engine idling on the environment.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Engine idling can be a significant contributor to local emissions, particularly where there may be a number of idling vehicles such as outside schools. Exhaust emissions contain a range of air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter. These can affect the air quality of the surrounding environment and the air we breathe. That is why the law states that is an offence to idle your engine unnecessarily when stationary and Local Authorities have powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to drivers who do so.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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.
The Department for Education’s vision is for the UK education sector to be a world leader in sustainability and climate change by 2030, as set out in the department’s draft sustainability and climate change strategy. The education estate is a key action area within the strategy. We will support the sector in reducing carbon emissions, adapting and mitigating to the worst impacts of climate change, and increasing biodiversity. We will contribute to carbon reduction through delivering new school buildings, improving the existing school estate and engaging users in the process of managing buildings for the greatest impact.
By 2023 all new school buildings delivered by the Department for Education (not already contracted) will be net zero in operation. We will also continue to develop and test the GenZero prototype for the future new build of schools, designed to be ultra-low in construction carbon and net zero in operation.
The Department for Education estates’ ambition is to embed sustainability in our business process and achieve our net zero target across all activities by 2050 in line with the Government Property Agency and the UK government commitment.
We are committed to playing our part to support the labour market transition to net zero. In November last year, we established (jointly with The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) the Green Jobs Taskforce, which has helped to build the evidence on skills and workforce needs in key green sectors.
That has informed our contribution to the Net Zero Strategy which was published on 19 October. Building on the Skills for Jobs White Paper, the Net Zero Strategy sets out how our skills reforms will strengthen links between employers and providers, support workers in high carbon sectors with the transition, and help to build a pipeline of future talent.
Our plan for net zero will generate thousands of well-paid jobs here in the UK, help us develop thriving, world-leading green industries, strengthen our energy security, and improve our health and wellbeing. Acting now will put us at the forefront of large, expanding global markets and allow us to capitalise on export opportunities.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Government's announcement of 21 August 2021 that all school settings would be provided with CO2 monitors during the autumn term, and that special schools would receive them from September 2021, how many CO2 monitors have been supplied to special schools in England as of 1 December 2021.
Answered by Robin Walker
As of 26 November, the department has delivered 329,231 carbon dioxide monitors to almost all eligible education and childcare settings, backed by £25 million in government funding.
Special schools and alternative provision were prioritised for the first deliveries, given their higher than average number of vulnerable pupils. Deliveries to these settings are now complete.
Over 99% of eligible schools, colleges, and the majority of early years settings have now received their allocation of CO2 monitors. Final deliveries will be made before the end of term, enabling all settings to identify areas where ventilation can be improved and provide reassurance that existing measures are working.
The department does not hold data on the number of settings by ward or parliamentary constituency. However, further information can be found on the fortnightly statistical release at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/co2-monitors-cumulative-delivery-statistics.
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 allocating funding for the building of new schools to replace those with high carbon emissions.
Answered by Robin Walker
In June 2020, the government announced the new School Rebuilding Programme. The department has confirmed the first 100 schools as part of a commitment to 500 rebuilding and refurbishment projects over the next decade. The programme will replace poor condition and ageing school buildings with modern, energy efficient designs, delivering new buildings that will be net zero carbon in operation, and more resilient to future climate change.
The department’s consultation on the approach to prioritising schools for future places in the programme closed on 8 October 2021 and we plan to set out further details in early 2022.
The department also allocates capital funding each year to those responsible for school buildings to improve and maintain the condition of the school estate. Condition funding can be used to invest in improving energy efficiency.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy set up the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme in 2020 to provide grants for eligible public sector bodies, including schools, to fund energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation measures.
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 - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
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 - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
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 Central)
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 - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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.