Local government and net zero in England

To improve its collaboration with local authorities on net zero, the main departments that engage with local authorities on net zero (BEIS, MHCLG, DfT and Defra, working with HMT) should: a) establish a clear lead in central government for developing the way departments work with local authorities on net zero. This individual or group should: i) act as a primary point of contact for local authorities on net zero; ii) take lead responsibility for tracking government’s progress in tackling the challenges identified in this report; iii) identify and disseminate good practice and learning; and iv) report progress to the cross-government Board for net zero (the net zero National Strategy Implementation Group (NSIG)), so that they can help resolve any ongoing challenges.

b) work in partnership with local authorities and their representative bodies to develop a dedicated section in the overall and sector decarbonisation strategies to set out how key actions, decisions and responsibilities will be split across national, regional and local government bodies. This should: i) reflect the different roles and responsibilities of different types of local authorities whether district, county or unitary, in predominantly rural or urban areas, and the level of deprivation in their local areas; ii) explicitly distinguish between action that all local authorities will need to take if the UK is to meet net zero by 2050, and action that local authorities can most usefully take where they wish to forge ahead more quickly; and iii) recognise that for some issues there will be unavoidable uncertainty about who will be best placed to do what, and set out the principles that will underpin these choices and an expected timetable for making these decisions. As part of clarifying these responsibilities government should consider the case for a statutory duty for local authorities on net zero.

c) set out a clear pathway for how government expects to further align the planning system with net zero in the forthcoming planning reforms.

d) convene a local and central government working group to establish a few simple standards for local authority reporting on net zero. This group should have a clear remit to develop standards that make it quicker and easier for local authorities to report net zero progress, for government to form a picture of overall progress, and to facilitate sharing of good practice, without adding unnecessary burdens. Its recommendations would not need to be mandatory to have benefit.

e) carry out an overall outline analysis of local authority funding for net zero, to inform the next Comprehensive Spending Review. This should: i) be developed in parallel with, and informed by, the development of a clearer articulation of local authorities’ role in achieving the national net zero strategy; ii) consider short, medium and long-term cost pressures and funding requirements to allow local action in line with the national decarbonisation strategies; iii) explicitly reflect that not all components of costs are knowable or certain at this time, particularly over the long-term. Where possible it should determine a range of potential cost implications for local authorities and where it is not even possible to determine a range yet, it should set a timetable for updating this part of the analysis as different aspects of government’s approach to net zero are developed; and iv) consider how to improve the way that funding is provided to local authorities for net zero action, so that local authorities have the long-term certainty they need to plan effectively and build skills and resources, and so that an appropriate portion of the money goes to where need is greatest.

f) set an appropriate review point, within the next 18 months, to assess the extent to which local authorities have in practice been able to use wider funding for economic growth and ‘levelling up’ in ways that align with net zero and to identify and address any challenges.

g) work with local authorities to assess the skills gaps for their work towards the national net zero target and how these might be addressed, drawing on the work of the Green Jobs Taskforce.