Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Paragraph: 29
On funding, we welcome the commitment in the Net Zero Strategy to explore ways to...
Conclusion
On funding, we welcome the commitment in the Net Zero Strategy to explore ways to simplify and consolidate the number of local net zero funding streams, but we note it included no clear commitment to increasing the level of long-term funding specifically for local authority climate action.
Paragraph Reference:
29
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
Local authorities already have significant spending power for net zero. The National Audit Office Report into Local Government and Net Zero identified £1.2 billion in specific grant funding available in 2020-2021 for local authorities to act on climate change, and notes this is a sixteen- fold increase on the previous year. Overall, in 2021-2022, the Government increased the core spending power for English local authorities from £49 billion in 2020-2021 to up to £51.3 billion, a 4.6% increase. However, the Government does recognise that longer-term and more co-ordinated funding streams can enhance innovation and investment, reduce bureaucracy, and encourage more efficient and integrated decision making. The Net Zero Strategy outlined the Government’s intention to explore how we could simplify and consolidate funds which target net zero initiatives at the local level. We have also committed to working across departments to explore how we can give sufficient certainty to boost investment in longer-term programmes supported by regeneration initiatives.