§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what lead he is taking to improve environment protection education and training.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe national curriculum includes much that is relevant to the protection of the environment. Science includes learning about human influences on the earth such as activities which can cause pollution and changes in the biosphere, while technology includes 243W understanding something of the environmental consequences of design and technological innovations. Geography, when it is introduced, will be a major vehicle for environmental education, including the area of environmental protection.
Provision for further and higher education, including for vocational training, is made by local education authorities or by individual institutions such as universities, polytechnics and colleges of higher education. Our education reforms are ensuring that institutions are increasingly able to respond flexibly to the retraining and updating needs of employers and their employees. In consultation with his colleagues, my right hon. Friend is considering what further action could be taken in the area of further, higher and continuing education.