Fortieth Report - Achieving government’s long-term environmental goals

The government's response refers to a PAC conclusion about HM Revenue & Customs' Net Cash Requirement breach, completely failing to address the recommendation regarding reviewing the effectiveness of the cross-government environment board.

The government's response refers to a PAC conclusion about the Home Office's Net Cash Requirement breach, completely failing to address the recommendation regarding reviewing and outlining total costs for environmental goals.

The government response does not address the recommendation regarding skills gaps but instead states that HM Treasury breached its Capital Annually Managed Expenditure total by £32 million.

The government agrees with the recommendation but states it is reviewing past guidance and considering what additional information should be published following the next spending review, rather than explicitly committing to publish the specific analysis requested.

The government accepted both parts of the recommendation, confirming the Permanent Secretary had written to the committee about the interim OEP setup and that the OEP will have a mandate to report directly to Parliament.

The government response does not address the committee's procedural conclusion about taking evidence but instead states that the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy breached its Resource Annually Managed Expenditure total by £4.9 billion.

The government agrees with the committee's observations on missed targets and commits to laying new long-term environmental targets by October 2022, with interim targets in a revised Environment Plan by January 2023. It also aims to finalise all 66 outcome indicators by 2024.

The government response reiterates the origins of the 25 Year Environment Plan and Defra's lead role, noting other government parts also play important roles, without addressing the broader cross-government accountability implied by the committee's reference.

The government agrees with the committee's observations and confirms it has already established a new Cross-Government 25 Year Environment Plan Board. It commits to providing an initial assessment of the board's effectiveness by June 2021 and a fuller assessment by July 2022.

The government response is truncated and merely repeats a portion of the original committee text, failing to provide any new information or address the underlying concern about managing cross-departmental trade-offs.

The government agrees with the committee's observation on funding but instead of providing the requested breakdown of the £1 billion, it commits to determining and publishing the costs for meeting new legally binding targets with HM Treasury by October 2022, to align with the next Environmental Improvement Plan by January 2023.

The government agrees with the committee's observation on funding challenges but defers action by stating that costs for meeting new legally binding targets will be determined with HM Treasury and published by October 2022, to align with the next Environmental Improvement Plan by January 2023.

The government accepted the recommendation, committing to establish a robust framework through the Environment Bill for developing the economic case for environmental targets, and will publish determined costs by October 2022.

The government agrees to the recommendation, stating it is working to understand and develop required skills and will develop a wider skills and capability plan to ensure organisations have the necessary expertise and resources for environmental goals.

The government acknowledges the importance of skills and capability for environmental outcomes, describing ongoing work within Defra group agencies and a commitment to develop a wider skills and capability plan.

The government acknowledges the need to understand and develop skills for environmental outcomes, describing ongoing work within Defra group agencies and committing to develop a wider skills and capability plan, without directly addressing green job creation.

The government agrees, outlining that HM Treasury requires departments to assess environmental impacts during spending reviews via the Green Book, continuously updates guidance, and is reviewing learning from the 2020 Spending Review to consider publishing additional information.

The government agrees and outlines existing processes such as the Green Book for assessing environmental impacts, noting continuous improvements and an ongoing review of the environmental discount rate, while considering publishing additional information after the next spending review.

The government agrees to integrate environmental considerations further into spending reviews by continuously improving the Green Book, conducting a review of the environmental discount rate, and considering additional publication of information on environmental impacts after the next spending review.

The government agrees and will set up the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) in interim form from July 2021, led by the Chair-designate and other directors, to begin functions like receiving complaints and developing strategy before the Environment Bill's Royal Assent.

The government agrees, stating it is setting up the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) in interim form from July 2021, outlining its functions and ensuring it can use its full powers upon Royal Assent.

The government confirms the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) will be operationally independent, reporting to Parliament on its functions and findings, despite being accountable to Ministers, and is establishing the OEP in interim form from July 2021.