Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate his Department has made of the total building area in square metres of (a) schools, (b) colleges and (c) universities in each Display Energy Certificate band.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In response to the legally binding target of reducing UK carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, the Department is reviewing building standards and specifications for school buildings to ensure this can be met. This will include data gathering, investigation of appropriate actions and effectiveness of any actions to reduce emissions.
At present the Department does not hold information on Display Energy Certificate data on schools, colleges or universities. The Department is working with the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy to access energy data from the education estate to influence future policy decisions. We do not currently hold accurate estimates of consumption by energy type or source.
The Department is working with University College London’s energy unit on assessing energy use and carbon emissions across the schools estate. We encourage those responsible for further education and higher education estates to address energy reduction to support action on climate change.
Through the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme the Department estimates that the total floor area of school buildings in England is approximately 80 million square metres. The CDC is being extended to further education colleges and the corresponding data will be available in due course. The Department can also access similar data from the Higher Education Statistics Service.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate his Department has made of the total area in square metres of (a) school, (b) college and (c) university buildings in England.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In response to the legally binding target of reducing UK carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, the Department is reviewing building standards and specifications for school buildings to ensure this can be met. This will include data gathering, investigation of appropriate actions and effectiveness of any actions to reduce emissions.
At present the Department does not hold information on Display Energy Certificate data on schools, colleges or universities. The Department is working with the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy to access energy data from the education estate to influence future policy decisions. We do not currently hold accurate estimates of consumption by energy type or source.
The Department is working with University College London’s energy unit on assessing energy use and carbon emissions across the schools estate. We encourage those responsible for further education and higher education estates to address energy reduction to support action on climate change.
Through the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme the Department estimates that the total floor area of school buildings in England is approximately 80 million square metres. The CDC is being extended to further education colleges and the corresponding data will be available in due course. The Department can also access similar data from the Higher Education Statistics Service.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the energy consumption in kW, by energy type, of schools in each of the last five years; and what proportion of that energy consumption was bought renewable or self-generated renewable energy.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In response to the legally binding target of reducing UK carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, the Department is reviewing building standards and specifications for school buildings to ensure this can be met. This will include data gathering, investigation of appropriate actions and effectiveness of any actions to reduce emissions.
At present the Department does not hold information on Display Energy Certificate data on schools, colleges or universities. The Department is working with the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy to access energy data from the education estate to influence future policy decisions. We do not currently hold accurate estimates of consumption by energy type or source.
The Department is working with University College London’s energy unit on assessing energy use and carbon emissions across the schools estate. We encourage those responsible for further education and higher education estates to address energy reduction to support action on climate change.
Through the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme the Department estimates that the total floor area of school buildings in England is approximately 80 million square metres. The CDC is being extended to further education colleges and the corresponding data will be available in due course. The Department can also access similar data from the Higher Education Statistics Service.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the total carbon dioxide equivalent emissions of schools in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In response to the legally binding target of reducing UK carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, the Department is reviewing building standards and specifications for school buildings to ensure this can be met. This will include data gathering, investigation of appropriate actions and effectiveness of any actions to reduce emissions.
At present the Department does not hold information on Display Energy Certificate data on schools, colleges or universities. The Department is working with the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy to access energy data from the education estate to influence future policy decisions. We do not currently hold accurate estimates of consumption by energy type or source.
The Department is working with University College London’s energy unit on assessing energy use and carbon emissions across the schools estate. We encourage those responsible for further education and higher education estates to address energy reduction to support action on climate change.
Through the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme the Department estimates that the total floor area of school buildings in England is approximately 80 million square metres. The CDC is being extended to further education colleges and the corresponding data will be available in due course. The Department can also access similar data from the Higher Education Statistics Service.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in England are taking steps to insulate their buildings to meet local and national carbon reduction targets.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Department encourages schools to limit their impact on the environment by taking a range of actions including minimising heat loss through improved insulation. The Department has a programme of capital investment in schools and will have spent £22 billion on new and improved school buildings between 2017 and 2021.
The Schools Buying Strategy was created to help schools with procurement to help ensure they get the best value for money. There are a wide range of recommended frameworks and support which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/buying-for-schools. Advice on good estate management, including the Salix loan scheme can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/information-training-and-tools.
Salix Finance Ltd. was established in 2004 as an independent, publicly funded company through which interest-free government funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Education, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government provides the public sector with loans for projects to improve energy, reduce bills and reduce carbon emissions. Schools can access Salix funding through three routes:
1) the Salix Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme for maintained schools.[1]
2) Salix Energy Efficiency Fund for academies administered directly by Salix.[2]
3) through the DfE’s Condition Improvement Fund.[3]
[1] For maintained schools, information is available on gov.uk and promoted by the department at schools’ events and shows.
[2] The department promotes the Salix Energy Efficiency Fund on gov.uk and will notify academies via an email bulletin.
[3] For academies that are eligible to apply to the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF), the department alerts them by direct email and also publishes information on Salix in the CIF applicant guidance which we have promoted on gov.uk at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-improvement-fund.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that schools are aware of the Salix Loan available to insulate school buildings and meet carbon reduction targets.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Department encourages schools to limit their impact on the environment by taking a range of actions including minimising heat loss through improved insulation. The Department has a programme of capital investment in schools and will have spent £22 billion on new and improved school buildings between 2017 and 2021.
The Schools Buying Strategy was created to help schools with procurement to help ensure they get the best value for money. There are a wide range of recommended frameworks and support which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/buying-for-schools. Advice on good estate management, including the Salix loan scheme can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/information-training-and-tools.
Salix Finance Ltd. was established in 2004 as an independent, publicly funded company through which interest-free government funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Education, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government provides the public sector with loans for projects to improve energy, reduce bills and reduce carbon emissions. Schools can access Salix funding through three routes:
1) the Salix Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme for maintained schools.[1]
2) Salix Energy Efficiency Fund for academies administered directly by Salix.[2]
3) through the DfE’s Condition Improvement Fund.[3]
[1] For maintained schools, information is available on gov.uk and promoted by the department at schools’ events and shows.
[2] The department promotes the Salix Energy Efficiency Fund on gov.uk and will notify academies via an email bulletin.
[3] For academies that are eligible to apply to the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF), the department alerts them by direct email and also publishes information on Salix in the CIF applicant guidance which we have promoted on gov.uk at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-improvement-fund.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what additional steps her Department has taken to increase the supply of renewable energy production.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
This Government is committed to meeting net zero by 2050, and in 2019, the Government became the first major economy in the world to have legislated for a net zero target to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from across the UK economy by 2050. We agree with the Committee on Climate Change’s view on the importance of a diverse mix of power generation sources to achieve that with renewables providing the majority of our electricity by 2050 alongside firm low carbon power from sources such as nuclear, and gas or biomass generation with carbon capture and storage.
The Government has introduced many initiatives to increase the supply of renewable energy production in the UK and with this support, carbon emissions have reduced by 42%, while the economy has grown by 73% since 1990. We have also seen rapid deployment of solar PV over the last 8 years, with over 99% of the UK’s solar PV capacity deployed since May 2010 and half of the world’s offshore wind deploying in the UK. We have committed up to £557m of annual support for future Contracts for Difference, providing developers with the confidence they need to invest in bringing forward new projects and we are supporting our world-leading offshore wind industry through the 2019 sector deal.
In order to support smaller scale renewable electricity generation, the Government introduced the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) on 1 January, which gives small scale low-carbon electricity generators, such as homes with solar panels, the right to be paid for the renewable electricity they export to the grid. Unlike the previous Feed-in Tariff scheme, the SEG is a market-driven mechanism. It paves the way to projects being deployed without subsidies.
The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) supports the transition to low-carbon heating in the UK, helping generate renewable heat for schools, hospitals and more than 12,000 social housing properties. The scheme is designed to bridge the gap between the cost of fossil fuel heat sources and renewable heat alternatives through financial support for owners of participating installations. The RHI helps to sustain and build the supply-chains needed to deliver our aspirations for renewable heat in 2020 and beyond
We are working to develop a new policy framework for the long-term decarbonisation of heat. We have committed to publishing a policy roadmap in summer 2020. This will set out the programme of work required to enable key strategic decisions in the first half of 2020 on how we achieve mass transition to low carbon heating.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2019 to Question 277289 on guidance to schools in reducing their carbon footprint, how his Department plans to translate the results of the Condition Data Collection into developing future priorities for investment.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Condition Data Collection, which is due to complete school visits in autumn 2019, will provide a high-level assessment of the make-up and condition of state-funded schools in England. Analysis of this data will help inform policy development, including delivering energy efficient new schools and supporting the existing estate to reduce its energy demand. The Department will look carefully at capital funding in preparation for the upcoming Spending Review, along with all our priorities for the education system.
The Department published the 'Good estate management for schools' (GEMS) guidance in April 2018 after extensive consultation with schools and building professionals. The guidance sets out the policies, processes and documents that schools, academies and multi-academy trusts need to consider when managing their estates.
This includes a section on ‘Energy and water management’, and tips on reducing energy and water use in schools. It also signposts schools to other organisations that provide training, information and support in relation to sustainability and energy efficiency in schools. The Department plans to update the guidance in response to feedback received, including updates to the energy and water management sections.
Officials regularly present and promote the GEMS guidance at national and regional educational events. The Department also works closely with stakeholders to promote and raise awareness of the GEMS guidance.
Funding for clean technologies is available through Salix Finance Limited funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Education. Applicants to the Condition Improvement Fund can apply for energy efficiency interest-free Salix loans for condition improvement works that will lead to annual energy savings.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2019 to Question 277289 on guidance to schools in reducing their carbon footprint, whether his Department has agreed a timescale over which to develop future priorities for investment.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Condition Data Collection, which is due to complete school visits in autumn 2019, will provide a high-level assessment of the make-up and condition of state-funded schools in England. Analysis of this data will help inform policy development, including delivering energy efficient new schools and supporting the existing estate to reduce its energy demand. The Department will look carefully at capital funding in preparation for the upcoming Spending Review, along with all our priorities for the education system.
The Department published the 'Good estate management for schools' (GEMS) guidance in April 2018 after extensive consultation with schools and building professionals. The guidance sets out the policies, processes and documents that schools, academies and multi-academy trusts need to consider when managing their estates.
This includes a section on ‘Energy and water management’, and tips on reducing energy and water use in schools. It also signposts schools to other organisations that provide training, information and support in relation to sustainability and energy efficiency in schools. The Department plans to update the guidance in response to feedback received, including updates to the energy and water management sections.
Officials regularly present and promote the GEMS guidance at national and regional educational events. The Department also works closely with stakeholders to promote and raise awareness of the GEMS guidance.
Funding for clean technologies is available through Salix Finance Limited funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Education. Applicants to the Condition Improvement Fund can apply for energy efficiency interest-free Salix loans for condition improvement works that will lead to annual energy savings.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2019 to Question 277289 on guidance to schools in reducing their carbon footprint, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the Good Estate Management website in providing guidance on how individual institutions can become more environmentally-friendly.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Condition Data Collection, which is due to complete school visits in autumn 2019, will provide a high-level assessment of the make-up and condition of state-funded schools in England. Analysis of this data will help inform policy development, including delivering energy efficient new schools and supporting the existing estate to reduce its energy demand. The Department will look carefully at capital funding in preparation for the upcoming Spending Review, along with all our priorities for the education system.
The Department published the 'Good estate management for schools' (GEMS) guidance in April 2018 after extensive consultation with schools and building professionals. The guidance sets out the policies, processes and documents that schools, academies and multi-academy trusts need to consider when managing their estates.
This includes a section on ‘Energy and water management’, and tips on reducing energy and water use in schools. It also signposts schools to other organisations that provide training, information and support in relation to sustainability and energy efficiency in schools. The Department plans to update the guidance in response to feedback received, including updates to the energy and water management sections.
Officials regularly present and promote the GEMS guidance at national and regional educational events. The Department also works closely with stakeholders to promote and raise awareness of the GEMS guidance.
Funding for clean technologies is available through Salix Finance Limited funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Education. Applicants to the Condition Improvement Fund can apply for energy efficiency interest-free Salix loans for condition improvement works that will lead to annual energy savings.