Select committee: Environmental Audit Committee

Recommendation 32

Third Report - Green Jobs Published 25 Oct 2021 Paragraph 132
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recommend that by the end of 2021, the Skills and Productivity Board, or similar body, is tasked with ongoing monitoring of skills needs, with regular periodic reviews, to ensure forward-looking and responsive skills planning which encompasses the needs of the economy in reaching the Government’s net zero and long-term environmental ambitions.

From: Environmental Audit Committee, Third Report - Green Jobs (HC 75), paragraph 132, 25 October 2021

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 20 January 2022 (deadline 25 December 2021).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government welcomes the Committee's focus on green jobs and skills, points to its Net Zero Strategy and a new Green Jobs Delivery Group, and in places declines to set out the requested plans, costings or measures.

  • A Green Jobs Delivery Group will include ministers from BEIS, Defra, DfE, DWP and DfT alongside an industry co-chair, with further detail "in the new year".
  • On indicative costings for green jobs actions, it says further allocations depend on ongoing policy development, so "it is not possible to set these out to the Committee at this point".
  • On a module on environmental sustainability in every apprenticeship and T Level, it says "we do not believe that a generic sustainability module across every occupational standard is appropriate". Sustainability elements are included "where occupationally relevant".
  • On the Careers Strategy, it says it "currently do[es] not plan to update" it, as it has been superseded by the Skills for Jobs white paper.

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