Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Heritage Sector: Net Zero

Thursday 18 April 2024 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Earlier this year, the Department published a review addressing barriers faced by owners of historic homes in reducing energy consumption.
  • Historic England provides guidance to help museums reduce energy consumption, and the Department is exploring additional measures to support heritage sites.
  • The Department supports community-based partnerships for heritage assets, as evidenced by a visit to the battle of Britain bunker at RAF Uxbridge.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Mary Glindon Lab Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend
Climate Culture, Media & Sport
Context

The question asks about specific steps the Department is taking to assist heritage sites in achieving net zero emissions.

Question

What steps her Department is taking to help the heritage sector reach net zero.

Answer from Julia Lopez

Earlier this year, we published a review of barriers faced by owners of historic homes to reducing energy consumption. It made commitments across planning, skills and finance to assist the heritage sector on its journey to net zero, including consulting on local listed building consent orders.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not provide specific funding amounts or timelines for achieving net zero in the heritage sector. It mentions commitments but lacks concrete details on how these will be implemented.

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Q2 Mary Glindon Lab Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend
Climate Culture, Media & Sport
Context

The question addresses the lack of funding sources besides the Heritage Fund and regional government funding, which are not sufficient for heritage sites to meet climate change targets.

Question

Currently, other than the Heritage Fund and potential regional government funding, there are no other sources of funding that would help cultural and heritage sites meet climate change targets. What are the Government doing directly to ensure that heritage sites can be resilient against climate change and have sustainable futures?

Answer from Julia Lopez

I thank the hon. Member for raising that issue. We have been looking into how historic buildings can reduce energy consumption. Historic England has guidance to help museums, and we will look at what more we can do.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not provide specific details on direct actions or funding sources for heritage sites' resilience against climate change.

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Q3 Caroline Dinenage Con Gosport
Defence Culture, Media & Sport
Context

The question highlights the concern about valuable heritage assets housed in military estates being left to decline without maintenance due to managed decline policies.

Question

When it comes to valuable heritage assets, I am really concerned about those housed in the grounds of our many military estates which are not bound by any of the obligations to maintain and care for them. In many cases, the Ministry of Defence and others are pursuing a policy of managed decline, which is allowing those valuable heritage assets to rot under our very noses.

Answer from Julia Lopez

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important point. It is something we support when an asset is in the community rather than on the existing military estate. I recently visited the battle of Britain bunker at RAF Uxbridge, where there has been an amazing partnership with the local council.

Not addressed: The answer does not address the specific issue raised about heritage assets in MOD sites or provide a commitment to action on managed decline policies.

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Q4 Lilian Greenwood Lab Nottingham South
Climate Culture, Media & Sport
Context

The question discusses the workforce challenge in retrofitting heritage buildings to meet net zero targets, highlighting that there is a need to double the number of conservation-skilled workers.

Question

The Heritage Alliance estimates that the UK needs to double the number of conservation-skilled retrofit workers if we are to meet our net zero targets by 2050. Our built environment is at risk, yet the Government have stalled on training and have no plan to upskill the next generation.

Answer from Julia Lopez

Our Department has a huge number of initiatives under way to help people deal with skills shortages, not just in the heritage sector but in the creative industries. The Secretary of State and I were discussing that with the Creative Industries Council this week. We are looking at bootcamps and T-levels for more practical vocational skills.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not provide specific details on how these initiatives will address the workforce challenge in retrofitting heritage buildings specifically.

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