Select committee inquiry
Sustainability in BIS inquiry
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“The National Audit office produced for the Committee a briefing on BIS ( see publication on the NAO website ), which examined the extent to which sustainability is embedded in the Department’s governance, policy making, operations and procurement. This inquiry examined the issues raised in the NAO briefing. Full terms of reference: New Inquiry Launched on Sustainability in BIS”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What the government said
The government responded on 10 February 2014.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response.
The Government accepts two of the Committee's recommendations on industrial strategies and the BIS business plan, while leaving most other matters, including sustainability strategies and cross-government arrangements, for individual Departments to decide.
- On the industrial strategies, it says it would be "premature" to subject them to "major revisions at this early stage", but the Green Economy Council "will be invited" to examine their approach to sustainability and is expected to report back "before the end of the year".
- BIS accepts the recommendation on its business plan, and says the 2014-15 corporate plan "will include a dedicated sustainability section", with progress monitored by the Department's Sustainability Committee.
- On the Regional Growth Fund, BIS considers the assessment process "in line with best practice", but the Secretariat will review the application form for Round 6 "later in 2014" and "explore the scope" for amending questions on social and environmental impacts.
- On a sustainable development strategy, it says it "will be for individual Departments to decide" whether a sustainability strategy is necessary. On sustainability reporting compliance, it says it has "no plans to change these arrangements".
Read the government's response ↗ Read the report ↗ Report an error
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 17 July 2013 to 10 February 2014.
- Oral evidence 4 Sep 2013
- Report 14 Nov 2013
- Government response 10 Feb 2014
What it recommended 3 recommendations · 15 conclusions
1Performance in BIS against the Greening Government Commitments has been good so far and the...
Concluded (the committee's words)
Performance in BIS against the Greening Government Commitments has been good so far and the targets are on track to be achieved; many well ahead of schedule.
2In BIS, as in many departments, performance on sustainable procurement lags behind other aspects of...
Concluded (the committee's words)
In BIS, as in many departments, performance on sustainable procurement lags behind other aspects of sustainable operations, exacerbated by minimal sustainability reporting.
3While Regional Growth Fund processes seek to measure and assess environmental or social benefits, BIS...
Concluded (the committee's words)
While Regional Growth Fund processes seek to measure and assess environmental or social benefits, BIS did little to establish or quantify whether there are disbenefits that might understandably be absent from completed application forms.
4When they are taken together as a whole, the approach of individual Industrial Strategies, which...
Concluded (the committee's words)
When they are taken together as a whole, the approach of individual Industrial Strategies, which simply seek to maximise industrial output, has environmental consequences which are inadequately considered.
5The Industrial Strategies appear to be disconnected from the BIS Business Plan process, weakening the...
Concluded (the committee's words)
The Industrial Strategies appear to be disconnected from the BIS Business Plan process, weakening the main vehicle by which Defra and the Cabinet Office challenge the sustainability-proofing of BIS policy-making.
6The establishment of a Sustainability Champion and Sustainability Committee in BIS should provide a good...
Concluded (the committee's words)
The establishment of a Sustainability Champion and Sustainability Committee in BIS should provide a good foundation for monitoring and encouraging sustainable operations.
7Sustainable development strategies are essential as a means of providing a reference point in departments...
Concluded (the committee's words)
Sustainable development strategies are essential as a means of providing a reference point in departments for sustainability initiatives by senior management and sustainability champions, and allowing all staff to readily understand the wider sustainable development imperatives, including to address natural and social capitals, that should lie behind all of a department’s policies and operations. They could also provide an important means of external accountability, complementing the requirements of sustainability reporting.
8The measures discussed throughout this report, from Business Plan reviews to Greening Government Commitment targets,...
Concluded (the committee's words)
The measures discussed throughout this report, from Business Plan reviews to Greening Government Commitment targets, to sustainability champions and strategies, all have an important role in facilitating and encouraging sustainable policy-making and operations in departments. But that is only part of the picture. Equally important is transparent accountability, and that requires an effective system of sustainability reporting, with all departments fully complying with those requirements.
9BIS, and other departments in a similar position [with Greening Government commitments on track], should...
Concluded (the committee's words)
BIS, and other departments in a similar position [with Greening Government commitments on track], should now consider setting for themselves more ambitious targets to maintain momentum. They should aid transparency by also presenting the results recast against baselines of its reducing staffing and estate.
10The Sustainability Champion in BIS should make improved performance and greater transparency on sustainable procurement...
Concluded (the committee's words)
The Sustainability Champion in BIS should make improved performance and greater transparency on sustainable procurement a priority for action within the Department.
11All departments should examine the NAO’s analysis of [sustainability in] policies in BIS, to produce...
Concluded (the committee's words)
All departments should examine the NAO’s analysis of [sustainability in] policies in BIS, to produce a similar analysis in their own departments in order to identify potentially unsustainable policies and to provide a baseline for reviewing and adjusting those policies.
12BIS should revise its Regional Growth Fund assessment process to incorporate potential environmental and social...
Concluded (the committee's words)
BIS should revise its Regional Growth Fund assessment process to incorporate potential environmental and social costs and disbenefits, and weigh these fully in considering applications for grants. Defra and the Cabinet Office should challenge other government departments to ensure that on any similar grant allocation policies they collect information on all pillars of sustainable development and fully take it into account.
13BIS should review its Industrial Strategies to ensure that they represent a sustainable development approach...
Recommended (the committee's words)
BIS should review its Industrial Strategies to ensure that they represent a sustainable development approach across the 11 sectors as a whole. If necessary, it should redraft and reissue them to demonstrate where and how the Government has made any trade-offs between economic growth and climate change mitigation.
14BIS should review its Business Plan, to identify and reflect action commitments contained in the...
Recommended (the committee's words)
BIS should review its Business Plan, to identify and reflect action commitments contained in the various Industrial Strategies.
15Defra and the Cabinet Office should encourage other departments to study the experience of BIS’s...
Concluded (the committee's words)
Defra and the Cabinet Office should encourage other departments to study the experience of BIS’s Sustainability Champion and Sustainability Committee and consider introducing similar arrangements themselves.
16The Cabinet Office should ensure that Civil Service Learning’s e-learning module on sustainability is made...
Concluded (the committee's words)
The Cabinet Office should ensure that Civil Service Learning’s e-learning module on sustainability is made available as soon as possible, and it should then test all departments on their use of it through the Business Plan review process.
17BIS should produce a sustainable development strategy, in consultation with Defra and the Cabinet Office...
Concluded (the committee's words)
BIS should produce a sustainable development strategy, in consultation with Defra and the Cabinet Office to identify good practice. Defra and the Cabinet Office should encourage other departments to do the same. Such strategies should then form a focal point of the Business Plan review process. In BIS’s case, such a strategy document could make clear the extent to which sustainability is a strategic priority for the Department and what resources are needed to embed sustainable development in policy making. BIS should also encourage all of its agencies and NDPBs to produce sustainability strategies, and where appropriate make their Sustainability in BIS 21 production a condition for securing BIS funding. Again, Defra and the Cabinet Office should encourage other departments to act similarly.
18The Government should reconsider its response to our June 2013 recommendations on tightening overall compliance...
Recommended (the committee's words)
The Government should reconsider its response to our June 2013 recommendations on tightening overall compliance on sustainability reporting, to make that a clear Defra, Cabinet Office and Treasury responsibility.
Evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1
- 4 Sep 2013No witnesses recordedparliament.uk ↗