Yes. Ministers have already held a number of such discussions and we expect to hold more in future.
During the past year we have asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to ensure that by the end of this spending review period all universities in receipt of capital funding should have plans to reduce carbon emissions. In future, performance against these plans should be a factor in future capital allocations.
We have also agreed with HEFCE a key performance target for the Council's strategic plan as follows:
to finalise during 2008-09 in consultation with stakeholders a revised strategy for sustainable development in HE, which features a realistic target for carbon reductions which are sufficient to ensure satisfactory progress towards the Government targets of reducing carbon emissions by 60 per cent. against 1990 levels by 2050 and at least 26 per cent by 2020.
Reducing emissions from universities is important in its own right, but we believe it is particularly valuable because universities can provide examples of best practice to inspire businesses, other public services and community groups. We recognise that universities are autonomous institutions, and we want to work in partnership with them to address the sustainability agenda.
The University of Gloucestershire is one of the universities with which we have discussed these issues. It is an institution that reflects strong commitment to the sustainability agenda through its management, teaching and research activities.