Select committee: Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 26
Third Report - Growing back better: putting nature and net zero at the heart of the economic recovery
Published 17 Feb 2021
Paragraph 175
Environmental Audit Committee Greening the post-Covid recovery All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government has promised £2.9 billion for support for public sector decarbonisation projects over the five years to 2025. We consider that there is an urgent need for the front-loading of programme expenditure, and we recommend that as part of the programme the Government should support the capital cost of upgrading the energy efficiency of schools and hospitals. Providing energy efficiency upgrades Growing back better: putting nature and net zero at the heart of the economic recovery 75 to the UK’s social housing stock should also be prioritised. This should be assessed periodically by the National Audit Office as part of its regular work programme.
From: Environmental Audit Committee, Third Report - Growing back better: putting nature and net zero at the heart of the economic recovery (HC 347), paragraph 175, 17 February 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 22 June 2021 (deadline 17 April 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Committee's report and says many recommendations are "in line with existing policies", while setting out where it is already acting and where it takes a different or conditional position.
- On legally binding environmental targets, the government says the Environment Bill places a duty to set at least one target in each of four priority areas, and is "working towards a public consultation" with proposed targets for publication in early 2022.
- On climate disclosures, BEIS "intends to lay the SI by the end of this year", with regulations coming into force on 6 April 2022.
- On reducing VAT for repairs and green home upgrades, the government sets out cost and fiscal considerations, says "Going further would come at a cost to the Exchequer", and points to existing reduced rates and schemes.
- On carbon border adjustments, it says such mechanisms are one possible approach but "it is not yet clear" how one could comply with trade obligations and how effective it would be.