APPENDIX 3
Memorandum submitted by the Council for
Environmental Education
ABOUT CEE
The Council for Environmental Education (CEE)
is the national membership body, established in 1968, for organisations
and individuals in England with interests in education and the
environment. CEE works with and for its membership to develop
policy, enhance practice and enable members to work more effectively
together. CEE's members (listed in annex I) constitute the "Council"
and are national organisations, including government agencies,
NGOs, professional bodies and academic subject associations. CEE's
associates are local, regional and international organisations
including local authorities, NGOs, schools, colleges, universities,
education centres, and individuals.
CEE has a broad overview of its field, including
research, practice and policy, and a specialist focus on strategic
issues. Current government funding comprises a three-year strategic
core services grant from the Department of the Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs (Defra) through its Environmental Action Fund
(EAF) and a three-year youth work programme grant from the Department
for Education and Skills (DfES). Both of these grants come to
an end in March 2005. Other funding support is received from membership
subscriptions; trusts and foundations; and corporate partners.
INTRODUCTION
CEE is grateful for the opportunity to contribute
to the Committee's inquiry. This response concentrates on the
Pre-Budget Report 2004 and Spending Review 2004, and in particular
the question of funding for environmental education and education
for sustainable development (ESD).
Chapter 13 of the 2004 Spending Review Public
Service Agreement (PSA) White Paper focuses on sustainable development,
setting clear objectives and performance targets for making progress
on government's headline indicators on sustainable development.
Responsibility for achieving these targets is placed upon Defra:
"The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
is responsible for the delivery of this PSA".
The importance of education in working towards
sustainable development has been recognised by the UK government,
and, in particular, by Defra. Where next for the UK on Sustainable
Development? (2003), a report produced by the UNED-UK Committee
on behalf of Defra, identifies the top priorities for progressing
sustainable development in the UK as sustainable consumption and
production and resource efficiency; energy and climate change;
and education, raising awareness and capacity-building.
The Defra consultation document, "Taking
it On: Developing UK Sustainable Development Strategy Together"
(2004) also recognised that "schools, colleges and universities
can play their part in encouraging learning for sustainable development"
and that behavioural change will only result from a combination
of measures including information and public involvement, education,
economic incentives and standards.
Despite these statements of support for the
role of education, the Pre-Budget Report (PBR) 2004 fails to recognise
the importance of funding for environmental education and ESD.
Chapter 7 of PBR—Protecting the Environment—focuses
on the use of economic instruments to promote better environmental
management. However, the Report omits any reference to the use
of economic instruments to support strategic funding for educational
programmes to aid protection of the environment. This lack of
commitment to education has been clearly demonstrated through
the recent changes to the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS).
THE LANDFILL
TAX CREDIT
SCHEME
According to Entrust, between1996 and February
2004, LTCS provided around £29.2 million of funding to over
1,100 educational projects. On 1 April 2003 Objects C and CC:
"The provision of education, information or research and
development to encourage the use of sustainable waste management
practices such as waste reduction and recycling" were
removed from the eligibility criteria for funding. The one remaining
category within the LTCS community fund which recognizes education
is Object DA (biodiversity), and within this category, education
"cannot be the main intent of the project". In
addition, to be eligible, a project must be within a 10 mile radius
of a landfill site. This does not allow for national or regional
education projects or programmes and limits recipients to working
with groups in a specific geographical area.
Despite some new funding initiatives (see "Other
Funding Initiatives" below), to date there has been no replacement
for this loss of provision for strategic national waste and resources
education work, local waste education work, or wider ESD work,
either in the formal school environment or in the non-formal setting.
EDUCATION OR
AWARENESS-RAISING?
Margaret Beckett, the Secretary of State for
the Environment, said at the recent Environment Agency conference
"Recent research tells us that there is an attitude-behaviour
gap. Information failure is rarely the central problem . . . [it]
plays a much less important role than approaches that actively
engage people".
Defra's five year strategy states, within the
context of climate change, "In the past, we have relied
a lot on information and awareness campaigns. But these have largely
failed to translate awareness into action. Recent studies have
given clear messages that a more comprehensive approach is needed
to influence and modify individual behaviour".
Despite these announcements, and despite educational
research providing clear evidence of the ability of critical education
programmes to develop understanding and skills, to explore knowledge,
beliefs and values and to provide the basis for action, most funding
related to public engagement in sustainable development continues
to be directed at awareness-raising and information campaigns.
This contrasts sharply with the approach taken by the Department
for International Development (DfID) which has provided continued
strategic funding of development education through the Enabling
Effective Support programme and through core funding of the Development
Education Association, CEE's equivalent within development education.
OTHER FUNDING
INITIATIVES
Community Recycling and Economic Development (CRED)
The CRED scheme was established with £35
million from the New Opportunities Fund. Education and public
awareness projects that also meet a number of other programme
priorities are eligible. However, according to CEE's research,
organisations wishing to work primarily with schools have found
CRED funding very difficult to access.
Waste Partnership Fund
Defra has allocated £3 million for 2005-06
for the Waste Partnership Fund which can be used for "Awareness
Raising". However this is a one-year funding scheme only
available until March 2006. CEE does not yet know if projects
focusing on education will be successful in accessing funding.
Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP)
The Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) funding
includes funding administered by WRAP. WRAP includes objectives
on communications and awareness—to engage the public by
raising awareness of the need to reduce waste and recycle more,
particularly by helping councils to get the most out of collection
schemes by promoting them effectively. This objective has been
developed through the Recycle Now campaign for which WRAP has
received £30 million from Defra. However, within WIP there
is no provision for schools-based education work, or anything
other than "communication and raising awareness" activities.
Environmental Action Fund (EAF) (Defra)
The EAF was launched in 1992 to assist voluntary
organisations in England to support government environmental objectives,
where activities are not eligible for other grants. The total
value of fund has remained around £4 million a year. With
funding rounds every three years, the focus of the 2002-05 was
to support understanding and awareness of sustainable development,
and biodiversity. The focus of the fund was recently changed (2005-08
fund) to "sustainable consumption and production": projects
"that find ways of making sustainable living attractive to
consumers and sustainable behaviour attractive to producers"
leaving little scope for critical education projects.
Demand for environmental education funding
The New Opportunities Fund Social, Economic
and Environmental Development (SEED) programme has demonstrated
the demand for funding for projects linking the environment and
education. Environmental education had the largest take-up of
any SEED theme: of £14.17 million distributed from 2002 to
2004, £3.79 million was distributed for education projects.
The programme has now ended and criteria for successor funds,
such as the Community Recycling and Economic Development Programme
(CRED) and the Big Lottery Fund Young People Fund, do not present
clear opportunities for environmental education programmes to
be funded.
IN CONCLUSION
The government has recognised the importance
of education in working towards sustainable development in the
UK through the Defra Taking it On consultation document
and the launch of the DfES Sustainable Development Action Plan
for Education and Skills in 2003. Indeed, Charles Clarke states
in his foreword to this document, "This action plan sits
within the wider aspects of the UK Sustainable Development Strategy
with its main objectives to ensure effective management and sustainable
growth in society, the environment, resources and the economy".
Despite these statements, funding for strategic
education programmes has been systematically reduced, in particular
through changes to the LTCS, the EAF fund, and with the end of
the lottery-funded SEED programme. At the same time as accessible
Defra funding has been reduced, DfES are unambiguously acknowledging
there will be no new funding for ESD. There is a clear lack of
a funding strategy across government for ESD and this has failed
to be addressed within the Pre-Budget Report.
CEE argues that education has a vital role to
play in helping to meet government sustainable development objectives
and calls for a clear statement of strategic government funding
for ESD, acknowledging the respective roles—and resource
commitments—of Defra, DfES and other relevant government
departments.
Annex I
CEE MEMBER ORGANISATIONS
Association for Science EducationAssociation of National
Park Authorities
Bat Conservation Trust
Black Environment Network
Botanic Gardens Conservation International
Botanic Gardens Education Network
British Ecological Society
Centre for Alternative Technology
Centre for Research, Education and Training in Energy
Centre for Sustainable Energy
Chartered Institution of Wastes Management
Compassion in World Farming Trust
Countryside Foundation for Education
Design and Technology Association
Development Education Association
Earthwatch Institute
ENCAMS
English Heritage
English Nature
Environment Agency
Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges
Environmental Education Advisers Association
Farming and Countryside Education
Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens
Field Studies Council
Forest Education Initiative
Forestry Commission
Forum for the Future
Friends of the Earth
Geographical Association
Girlguiding UK
Global Action Plan
Groundwork
Human Scale Education
Industry Council for Packaging & the Environment
Institute for Earth Education
Intermediate Technology Development Group
Learning through Landscapes
Living Earth
National Association for Environmental Education
National Association of Field Studies Officers
National Association of Head Teachers
National Association of Youth and Community Education
Officers
National Council for Voluntary Youth Services
National Foundation for Educational Research
Natural Environment Research Council
Ordnance Survey
Oxfam Development Education Programme
Peace Child International
Royal Geographical Society (with the IBG)
Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Royal Society of Chemistry
Royal Town Planning Institute
Soil Association
Sustrans
The National Trust
The Natural History Museum
The Scout Association
The Wildlife Trusts
The Woodland Trust
UK Youth
University and College Lecturers' Union
Waste Watch
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
Wildscreen
Woodcraft Folk
WWF-UK
YMCA National Centre Lakeside
Young People's Trust for the Environment & Nature
Conservation
Youth Hostels Association (England and Wales) Ltd
Zoological Society of London
21 January 2005
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