'A new Health Improvement Strategy will be implemented from January 2018, which will build on the areas identified in the previous strategy over the following three years. An initiative to tackle childhood obesity will also be introduced.
The new strategy will aim to make progress on two key Manifesto commitments of the Government:
• Lifestyle improvement and the ‘Health MOT’ programme.
• Self-Care Approach to encourage all citizens to take control of their health and develop self-care awareness.
Environment:
There has been an 88% increase in our recycling rates overall, which reflects also the success of the eco-park. This includes an increase in cardboard and paper recycling by 120% and a 600% increase in waste oil recycling. In the light of this, the Government expects this year to achieve total self-sufficiency in the handling of urban solid waste, which will avoid a return to incineration.
The Government is fully committed to a sewage treatment plant and is about to enter detailed discussions with the selected provider with a view to achieving completion within the next 30 months.
Gibraltar now produces a city-level inventory of greenhouse gas emissions. Air quality in Gibraltar is currently the best since records began twelve years ago, and probably the best for decades. There has been a rapid drop in pollution levels of Nitrogen Dioxide since 2015. This downward trend continued in 2016, when concentrations for Nitrogen Dioxide on Rosia Road were below the EU required level for the first time in the 12 year history of air quality monitoring in Gibraltar.
That there has been a decrease in CO2 emissions despite there being more consumers is evidence of the success of the Government’s energy efficiency initiatives. The Government is now setting itself an ambitious target to reduce emissions from manageable sources by 50% by 2030. This will be achieved in large part by the improvements derived from the new gas power station but other measures to tackle building efficiency and transport emissions are also planned.
Extensive improvements are planned for both electrical and water networks to improve performance and reduce energy demands.
The Government has also made a commitment to solar projects, including at St Bernard's Hospital, where it is estimated that fuel savings of approximately £50,000 a year will be made. The Government remains committed to producing 20% of its energy from renewable sources.
Heritage
A contract has been awarded to an experienced contractor for the upkeep and maintenance of the planted areas of the Cemetery. A maintenance programme has been prepared by the Department of the Environment in consultation with the Botanic Gardens. A maintenance programme has been prepared by the Department of the Environment in consultation with the Botanic Gardens.
A new Heritage and Antiquities Act is in the final stages of preparation and will be published as a Bill very soon. This will clearly define the responsibilities that will govern all Heritage matters, including an expanded listing of assets in its schedules. The Act will set up a Heritage and Antiquities Commission to complement but not replace the revived Heritage Action Committee.
The new World Heritage Site viewing platforms at the Europa Advance Batteries 1 & 2 have now been completed plans are currently being finalised for their opening.
Education
The 1974 Education and Training Act is absolutely out of date. It will be thoroughly reviewed, together with Education professionals, and this will be brought to the House before the year is out.
Major changes to education system have been proposed and are to be addressed by working groups of professionals. This will include co-education at secondary level, the re-alignment of key stages and changes to school intakes, as well as the introduction of vocational pathways at earlier stages within the schools.
Extensive refurbishment of existing schools is also planned for this year.
New schools to be provided for St Martin's, Governor's Meadow, Bishop Fitzgerald, St Anne's, Norte Dame, Bayside and Westside. These are to be ready by September 2019.
There will be more training of teachers, focusing on special needs.
The interpretation of education goes clearly beyond schools as mere examination factories obsessed with examination results. Education is an open-ended process which works largely through conversation, example and relationships. It must be dialogical rather than just curricular.'