8 Deferred

Alongside the draft Carbon Budget Order for the Seventh Carbon Budget, the Government should publish...

Recommendation
Alongside the draft Carbon Budget Order for the Seventh Carbon Budget, the Government should publish a clear, indicative, cross-governmental delivery framework. The framework should demonstrate how departmental policies will be aligned, mutually reinforcing and consistent with the emissions limits set by Parliament. This framework should: • set out the respective roles and responsibilities of relevant departments in delivering the carbon budget pathway; • be explicitly endorsed by the Prime Minister’s Office and HM Treasury to demonstrate collective ownership; • provide transparency on how cross-government governance arrangements will operate in practice to resolve policy conflicts and oversee delivery; and • set out clearly how delivery shortfalls will be identified, addressed and allocated across departments, including where responsibility lies for corrective action within the overall carbon budget framework. (Recommendation, Paragraph 51) 58
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of coordination and states it will publish a statutory delivery plan for the Seventh Carbon Budget after Parliament decides the budget level. It will carefully consider the Committee’s specific recommendations for strengthening cross-government delivery when developing this plan, rather than committing to publish an indicative framework alongside the draft Carbon Budget Order.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government Deferred
The government recognises the importance of strong cross-government coordination to support effective delivery of the seventh carbon budget. Decarbonisation impacts are already considered in major decisions, and we have a robust framework that tracks policy delivery on an ongoing basis. This allows us to unblock issues across government and take remedial action where necessary to remain on track. DESNZ’s coordinating role in delivering CB7 and net zero is supported at the centre of government. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer are committed to ensuring that departments work together to meet carbon budgets. In line with the requirements set out in the Act, the government will publish a delivery plan for CB7 as soon as reasonably practicable after Parliament has decided on the CB7 budget level. This is to allow adequate time for CB7 policies and proposals to be developed further—noting that the start of the CB7 period will still be 12 years away—and presented in a delivery plan which meets the legal requirements of Section 14 of the Act. The government will consider views expressed by Parliament in the course of considering the CB7 level when preparing this delivery plan. Following the setting of the CB7 level, there will be a cross-government process to develop the delivery plan. Government will carefully consider the Committee’s recommendations for strengthening cross-government delivery.
Timeline
Recommendation age 0.4 yrs
Report published 04 Mar 2026