Thousands of Jobs Could Be Created Making Schools Energy Efficient

MAKING UK SCHOOLS energy efficient is a win-win, according to a new report published today by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

The report recommends a retrofitting programme for school buildings with £13.5bn of government investment over 10 years, creating 42,000 construction jobs and cutting 1.2 million tonnes of annual CO₂ emissions.

The report looks in particular at the current spending on schools through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), and estimates how much more is needed.

Energy Efficient Schools

A fifth of all PSDS funding to date (£335 million) has gone to schools, showing the demand from schools to improve energy efficiency. But the funding available through PSDS still falls far short of what’s needed, says the report.

Funding allocated through PSDS so far represents just 3% of UK schools’ total need for retrofits. And the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy suggested last week that even this funding may be cut.

Schools typically need between £300,000 and £700,000 in repairs (based on data for England). And more than 80% of schools still have asbestos present in buildings, much of which could be safely removed while retrofitting for energy efficiency.

The financial pressure that this puts on schools is rising. The House of Commons Library estimates that school energy bills have risen by 93% in the past year. And some schools have reported energy bills rising by tens of thousands of pounds, stretching resources that they want to allocate directly to education.

Threat to Decarbonising Funding

Last week, former Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee that funding to decarbonise public buildings could be cut, with funds transferred to pay energy companies to improve domestic energy efficiency.

But as the official Climate Change Committee noted in its most recent progress report, the energy efficiency of UK non-residential buildings has barely changed at all in the last eight years.

The TUC says that instead of cutting funding for public buildings to reallocate to other schemes, the government should increase overall funding for energy efficiency. This would maximise financial savings and carbon reductions across the whole economy.

Retrofit Programme Needed

The report shows that there is an opportunity to save schools money, help reach net zero, and create thousands of good quality jobs by measures like installing insulation, draughtproofing, and mechanical ventilation. Retrofits would also help classrooms stay cool in summer heatwaves.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “School buildings have been leaking energy for far too long. And with energy costs surging, this is hitting school budgets hard. It would be irresponsible to let this go on when we have the technology to fix it.

“If we invest now to make schools energy efficient, we will save a lot more in the long run. That means more money from school budgets going to education. It means a big cut in carbon emissions. And it means lots of good quality new jobs.”

The full report is called Schools built for the future: Why teachers, headteachers, school staff, and construction workers back school buildings upgrades. It was written with input from education unions and construction unions (NEU, NAHT, NASUWT, UNISON, Unite and GMB).

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