Green Ambitions at Risk as £80m Low-Carbon Grant Axed
The government’s decision to quietly scrap the £80 million Low-Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF) could stall school decarbonisation projects across the country, as reported in a recent Schools Week article by Jack Dyson.
The LCSF, which has supported schools since 2020, helped education leaders commission expert advice to support applications for the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS)—a complex, multi-billion-pound funding programme designed to cut emissions from public buildings.
Interviewed by Schools Week, academy funding consultant Tim Warneford warned that the move could leave many schools unable to participate in the scheme. Warneford was quoted as saying:
“For schools already facing tight budgets and rising costs, the removal of LCSF effectively shifts the burden of upfront investment onto institutions that may simply be unable to absorb it.”
He added that without early-stage funding, the pipeline of well-prepared and justified bids is likely to shrink, threatening progress towards decarbonising school estates. He told Dyson:
“In the absence of this early-stage funding, the pipeline of well-prepared and justified applications is likely to diminish, potentially stalling or weakening progress on the decarbonisation of heating systems within buildings,”
With schools under pressure to reduce emissions while balancing day-to-day costs, the loss of the LCSF represents a significant step backward—and raises urgent questions about how the government plans to support the education sector’s transition to net zero.
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