§ Mrs. Helen ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of whether funding for environmental education in schools will change when the landfill tax credit scheme is amended. [154458]
§ Mr. MorleyNo formal assessment has been made by this Department of the funding of environmental education in schools.
Environmental education forms a part of the national curriculum for schools. A number of non-curriculum waste education projects received funding through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme. The reform of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme was announced in the Pre-Budget Report in 2002. As a result, waste projects are no longer eligible for funding. However, certain types of environmental educational projects are eligible for funding under the current scheme, for example, in the biodiversity category.
A sustainable waste delivery public spending programme, administered by Defra, has been established following the reform of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, to ensure that sustainable alternatives to landfill disposal are widely available. Under the public expenditure programme the Waste and Resources Action Programme is responsible for taking forward work on waste awareness.