6. Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Implementation of net zero carbon and the 21st century schools and colleges programme

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:26 pm on 2 November 2021.

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Photo of Siân Gwenllian Siân Gwenllian Plaid Cymru 5:26, 2 November 2021

(Translated)

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you very much for the statement. As we know, and as you've mentioned, it's wonderful to construct new buildings that make effective and efficient use of energy, but we do also need to retrofit our current stock of buildings in order to reduce emissions in a meaningful way, as part of efforts to tackle climate change. And I can't emphasise this point enough this afternoon: a report by the Construction Industry Training Board notes that 40 per cent of the total emissions could come from construction work and the built environment, and, of course, that includes schools, colleges, many buildings that are owned by the education sector. And the board says that most of the effort in decarbonisation needs to focus on retrofitting energy efficiency on existing buildings rather than on new builds. So, I'd like to know where you strike that balance. One is aware that there are great benefits from having new buildings, but on the other hand, if we accept the evidence of the Construction Industry Training Board, then should there be as much emphasis on that aspect, or is this aspect of decarbonising the existing estate the priority for us now? And you mentioned that you are mapping the work that needs to be done in that regard, and will be drawing up a decarbonisation plan for that, but there is urgency here. So, what's the timetable for that and what will the milestones be on that journey? How will you prioritise those necessary projects?

And another issue that needs urgent attention is workforce skills, of course. And there appear to be numerous reports now mentioning the number of additional new workers that we need in Wales, just to meet current demand in terms of retrofitting and so on. And I again refer to the Construction Industry Training Board, and in a report published in March of this year, they state that an additional 12,000 roles in construction in Wales will be required by 2028, which isn't so far away, in order to provide for net zero, focusing on domestic retrofitting, and that's an increase of 12 per cent in the workforce. So, I would like to know what your priorities are in this area. How will you as education Minister work towards increasing this workforce? We heard the Minister for Economy mentioning the need to work with regional skills partnerships, but we need more than that, I would've thought. So, it would be good to hear what plans you have in place, particularly in order to enhance the workforce, which, in turn, will assist us in decarbonising not just in the education sector, but across the public sector estate?

And finally, I also want to know more about this sustainable schools challenge fund. You mentioned that its purpose is to inspire many innovative and sustainable primary schools that are part of their natural environment. Now, you're limiting this to the primary sector alone, I believe. Could you explain why that's the case and why you're not going to include secondary schools and colleges and so on? You also state that schools taking advantage of this fund will include learners in implementing sustainable and environmentally-friendly systems as part of their learning, which is valuable, of course, and I welcome that, but, just for clarity here, are we talking about a fund for building adaptations? Are we talking about a fund for creating plans for new schools along with learners, or are we talking about something more than that? Are we looking at having innovative plans and ideas in terms of issues such as local food supply chains as part of the food offer in schools? Are we talking about sustainable travel to school and those kinds of issues? Because I'm sure that our young people do have very many innovative ideas and we do need to listen to them, and, hopefully, this fund will allow for some of that too. Thank you.