§ Dr. GibsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what consideration he gives to the effects of climatic change on building new(a) school and (b) university buildings. [155617]
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§ Jacqui SmithThe Department gives guidance on the environmental performance of new school buildings in Building Bulletin 87, "Guidelines for Environmental Design in Schools". This recommends a number of measures for conserving energy. It also contains targets for limiting the amount of carbon dioxide produced by new buildings for both primary and secondary schools, thereby limiting their environmental impact.
The building or a adaptation of university buildings is a matter for each university. Universities are independent autonomous institutions who will take investment decisions based on longer term strategic objectives approved by the governing body of that institution. Where this may involve put lie funding, investment appraisal and business case review will be undertaken by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to ensure that the project is in line with established investment criteria. Each university has an estates strategy which fully considers environmental issue.
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