Forty-Sixth Report - Achieving Net Zero

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 935 5 March 2021
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 23 items (9 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 21 of 23 classified)
Accepted 13
Acknowledged 6
Not Addressed 2
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Forty-sixth report from Session 2019-21 · published 31 Aug 2021
Read the government response ↗ Response on the tracker
Clear

Recommendations & Conclusions

8 results
3 Recommendation Acknowledged
HM Treasury has not yet clarified how it will ensure net zero is given adequate...
Recommendation
HM Treasury has not yet clarified how it will ensure net zero is given adequate weight in the assessment of government policies and projects. Achieving net zero will be an all-encompassing challenge requiring all parts of government to contribute to … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation but describes existing Spending Review guidance, ongoing reviews of learning, and future publications, without specifically outlining the requested details on ensuring net zero consideration, stress-testing, and skills development across Whitehall.
HM Treasury
View Details
9 Conclusion Acknowledged
We asked what the Department was doing to ensure that it would be able to...
Conclusion
We asked what the Department was doing to ensure that it would be able to track progress towards net zero when responsibility was shared across departments. The Department told us that the new coordination structures provided it with clarity on … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the underlying sentiment of tracking progress, referring to existing annual 'Energy and Emissions Projections' and committing to set out more detailed metrics for tracking progress in a comprehensive Net Zero Strategy.
HM Treasury
View Details
10 Conclusion
We asked the Department about the recent decision to allow deep coal mining in Whitehaven,...
Conclusion
We asked the Department about the recent decision to allow deep coal mining in Whitehaven, Cumbria and how this aligned with the government’s intention to move away from depending on fossil fuels and towards cleaner energy sources. The Department told … Read more
HM Treasury
View Details
11 Conclusion Acknowledged
Net zero is an all-encompassing challenge that will affect every part of government.
Conclusion
Net zero is an all-encompassing challenge that will affect every part of government. It will not be achieved if it is not sufficiently prioritised when departments make decisions that could impact on greenhouse gas emissions.18 We asked whether other departmental … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the underlying sentiment, explaining that Spending Review 2020 guidance required departments to include emissions of bids and that HM Treasury is reviewing learning from this exercise for future spending reviews.
HM Treasury
View Details
13 Conclusion Acknowledged
We asked what impact measures such as the Green Book guidance had on major infrastructure...
Conclusion
We asked what impact measures such as the Green Book guidance had on major infrastructure projects like High Speed 2. The Department told us that departments were each responsible for ensuring that the projects within their areas remained below their … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the underlying sentiment, explaining that Spending Review 2020 guidance required departments to include emissions of bids and that HM Treasury is reviewing learning from this exercise for future spending reviews.
HM Treasury
View Details
14 Conclusion Acknowledged
We asked the Treasury why, in its updated Green Book, it had not introduced a...
Conclusion
We asked the Treasury why, in its updated Green Book, it had not introduced a specific requirement for policies to explain how they aligned with net zero. The Treasury told us that the guidance already required Departments to consider greenhouse … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the underlying sentiment, explaining that Spending Review 2020 guidance required departments to include emissions of bids and that HM Treasury is reviewing learning from this exercise for future spending reviews.
HM Treasury
View Details
20 Conclusion
Government investment in new technologies, such as carbon capture and storage, could benefit particular regions...
Conclusion
Government investment in new technologies, such as carbon capture and storage, could benefit particular regions of the UK and support the government’s levelling up agenda, which aims to create opportunity for everyone in all regions and address disparities in economic … Read more
HM Treasury
View Details
23 Conclusion Acknowledged
The Department acknowledged that it needed to consider place-related aspects to achieving net zero and...
Conclusion
The Department acknowledged that it needed to consider place-related aspects to achieving net zero and how local authorities could be involved in co-ordinating the changes needed in areas such as transport and energy.42 The Department told the National 36 Qq … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees a clearer statement of national, regional, and local responsibilities is needed and will provide a more comprehensive statement on local authority engagement within the Net Zero Strategy, building on existing collaboration.
HM Treasury
View Details