To ask the Minister for Communities for his assessment of the role of Libraries NI in delivering environmental education to schools, youth groups and the wider public.

Libraries NI (LNI) provides a wide range of environmental education and learning opportunities to schools, youth groups and the wider public. Libraries NI signed up to the Green Libraries Manifesto in August 2023. Signatories of the manifesto commit to a set of common principles with an emphasis to put sustainability at the heart of their work and planning, to embrace innovation that will help change current practices and to grow and share knowledge.

It is for this reason that LNI is a member of my Department’s Climate Change working group, which is made up of members from across the Department and a number of our Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs). This Group was formed in recognition of the wide range of skills and business areas that need to come together to share resources, knowledge, and skills on environmental issues Further details on initiatives delivered by LNI can be found in the 2024-25 Climate Change Action Plan available on the Department’s website at https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-12/dfc-climate-change-action-plan24-25.pdf