Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:31 pm on 2 November 2021.
I thank Siân Gwenllian for those questions. In terms of the question on new builds or the older estate, there is a difference, of course, in the approach to those things. To be clear, the policy I'm talking about today also includes broad-ranging renewal work in a broad range of schools, so it isn't restricted in that way, but the general point that the Member makes is a fair one.
In terms of timetabling the retrofitting work, the plan that was announced last week by the First Minister and the Minister for Climate Change talks about developing a strategic plan to decarbonise buildings by the end of 2023, that all public buildings have a low-carbon energy stream and, if they can, create their own energy as well. So, the timetable is longer, for the reason that the Member recognises in the question, because a lot of the estate is older. So, we need to map that work out before we can proceed with it, but it is an important element of the journey that we're on in terms of being a net-zero nation.
In terms of workforce skills, I'll refer the Member to what the Minister for Economy said, but it's certainly part of the further education agenda here in Wales. As well as this statement, this week, the Bill is being introduced for post-16 reforms, and one of the opportunities and the challenges that that's going to allow us to tackle more effectively is some of the new needs in our economy, so that we can respond in a much more flexible way to the demand for new skills, as it were, in the economy. So, that contributes towards that.
In terms of the challenge fund, the reason for restricting it in the first phase to primary schools is that the projects are easier to deliver and so that we learn lessons for more broad-ranging projects. Last week, I was in Nottage Primary School in Sarah Murphy's constituency to meet the children there, who had contributed to the design and construction of part of their playground. So, it's a small example of that—we're talking about a more ambitious agenda here—but it was very clear, in terms of the question that the Member asked, that the process of learning those skills and tackling the buildings showed great talent and creativity among the pupils, who were very innovative. So, the intention here is to have an initial scheme that focuses on primary schools in order to show the broader concept and to learn from that so that, hopefully, we can build on that.