Recommendations & Conclusions
21 items
2
Conclusion
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
The Government is dependent on businesses delivering successful innovation to reach net zero, but too often it is difficult for businesses to know what support is available and how to access it. The Government is providing £4.2 billion of support for net zero research and innovation to 2025 through 115 …
Government response. The government agrees and states the Net Zero Innovation Board will review the current net zero R&I portfolio to assess progress and emerging challenges, informing future funding allocation decisions.
HM Treasury
3
Conclusion
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
We are not convinced that the Government is paying sufficient attention to the practical challenges consumers can face in adopting low carbon technologies and how to overcome them. The Government selected the technology areas included in the Innovation Framework based on the opportunity to deliver major decarbonisation gains, the potential …
Government response. The government agrees to further consider consumer challenges when reviewing innovation priorities and intends to publish an update on the Net Zero Research and Innovation Framework Delivery Plan by the end of the current Spending Review period in 2025.
HM Treasury
4
Conclusion
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
Despite the Government’s ambition to have an effective end-to-end innovation system, responsibility for overseeing progress is siloed, making it difficult to assess progress across each of the priority technology areas. No single person or organisation has responsibility for overseeing the performance of government support for the end-to-end innovation system. Without …
Government response. The government agrees and will agree a set of actions and responsibilities between the Sub-IRIG and Net Zero Innovation Board to strengthen governance for cross-government progress on net zero technologies, including identifying key interdependencies.
HM Treasury
5
Conclusion
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
The Government has not yet defined what success will look like for the main net zero technology challenge areas and therefore lacks benchmarks with which to judge whether progress remains on track. It is vital that desired outcomes are clearly defined to enable government and Parliament to assess whether progress …
Government response. The government agrees and will consider and agree challenge outcomes for the current net zero R&I portfolio by Spring 2024, with the Innovation Delivery Board regularly monitoring progress.
HM Treasury
6
Conclusion
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
A well-run innovation programme always carries with it the risk of failure, but government has yet to define what failure is tolerable overall before its net zero objectives are jeopardised. We recognise that innovation involves a degree of risk and that a successful innovation portfolio will include both failures as …
Government response. The government agrees and will develop an overall risk appetite statement by Spring 2024, and its upcoming progress update on the Net Zero Research and Innovation Framework Delivery Plan will include an assessment of technology progress and timescales.
HM Treasury
7
Recommendation
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
There is no clear mechanism for reporting publicly progress in each of the priority technology areas. Government uses its overall Net Zero Strategy to report on the overall approach and progress to net zero but acknowledges this will not give all the detail that Parliament needs on progress in the …
Government response. The government agrees to report publicly on the Net Zero Research and Innovation Framework Delivery Plan's progress by the end of the current Spending Review period in 2025, against defined measures of success.
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) about net zero innovation. We also took evidence from HM Treasury.1
Government response. The government states the "recommendation is implemented" and describes its existing pragmatic approach to net zero, detailing actions like delaying the EV phase-out and increasing heat pump grants.
HM Treasury
8
Recommendation
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
While DSIT said it did not regret the fact that there is a large number of programmes, it recognised that it is important to make the sources of funding “accessible” and “understandable”. It explained that UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a non- departmental public body sponsored by DSIT, is developing …
Government response. The government agrees to improve accessibility and understanding of funding opportunities, committing the Net Zero Innovation Board to review the R&I portfolio and assess progress by Summer 2024 to inform future allocation decisions.
HM Treasury
9
Recommendation
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
The rapid deployment of net zero technologies will depend crucially on whether consumers want to buy them. However, consumers can face significant practical challenges in incorporating new technologies into their everyday lives, as we see with building an adequate charging network to support the projected increase in the number of …
Government response. The government agrees to further consider consumer challenges in net zero technology adoption and intends to publish an update on the Net Zero Research and Innovation Framework Delivery Plan by Spring 2025.
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
The Government, however, selected the 31 net zero technology areas in the Framework based on their potential carbon impact, the number of options to reach net zero and the potential for business opportunities in the UK.28 There is a risk that technology development has priority without sufficient regard being given …
Government response. The government agrees with the observation and highlights several existing initiatives such as energy advice services, ZEV funding, and R&I programmes (Heat Pump Ready, Green Home Finance Accelerator) that already incorporate consumer interests. They also intend to further consider consumer …
HM Treasury
11
Recommendation
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
DESNZ has responsibility for net zero policy, while DSIT has responsibility for supporting research and innovation and creating the underlying conditions to support success.31 Many different organisations are involved in supporting innovation, both public and private, ranging from the research funding bodies such as UKRI through to policy teams, regulators …
Government response. The government agrees and commits that a set of actions and responsibilities will be agreed between the Net Zero Integrated Review Implementation sub-Group and the Net Zero Innovation Board to strengthen governance around cross-government progress on net zero technologies by …
HM Treasury
12
Recommendation
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
DESNZ told us that it had overall responsibility for delivering carbon budgets and oversight of a “whole government effort” to reach net zero.33 The Net Zero Innovation Board (the Board), chaired by the Government Chief Scientific Advisor provides advice to DESNZ on the Innovation Framework.34 However, there is no single …
Government response. The government agrees to strengthen governance around end-to-end progress on net zero technologies by agreeing a set of actions and responsibilities between the Sub-IRIG and NZIB by Spring 2024.
HM Treasury
13
Recommendation
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
The Net Zero Innovation Board, established in 2020, had responsibility for overseeing the development of the Framework. It now has several ongoing functions including providing strategic direction and seeking to influence spending decisions. The Board does not, however, have authority to direct decisions on the use of individual funds or …
Government response. The government agrees to strengthen governance and 'join-up' between different bodies by agreeing a set of actions and responsibilities between the Sub-IRIG and the Net Zero Innovation Board by Spring 2024.
HM Treasury
14
Recommendation
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
Both DSIT and DESNZ recognised however that there is more to do to oversee performance across the portfolio of activities. DESNZ acknowledged that “we are not at the finished article yet”.39 DSIT and HM Treasury told us that oversight of innovation is done at the project level through peer-level and …
Government response. The government agrees to improve portfolio performance oversight and 'join-up' from research to commercialisation, committing to agree a set of actions and responsibilities between the Sub-IRIG and NZIB by Spring 2024.
HM Treasury
15
Recommendation
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
DESNZ, with other departments, has started to establish a process for monitoring progress systematically across the Framework but it is still to define what outcomes it is seeking to deliver. We were told that the Net Zero Innovation Board is starting to run a series of “deep dives” on each …
Government response. The government agrees that the Net Zero Innovation Board's sub-group will consider and agree challenge outcomes for the R&I portfolio by Spring 2024, moving beyond output-focused indicators.
HM Treasury
16
Recommendation
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
We challenged DESNZ on how it was going to measure progress in terms of the potential to achieve carbon reductions and economic growth.44 It told us that individual programmes have set outputs and ‘near-term’ outcomes for what interim measures of success might look like.45 DESNZ agreed that it was a …
Government response. The government agrees to improve progress measurement in terms of outcomes, committing the Net Zero Innovation Board's sub-group to consider and agree challenge outcomes for the R&I portfolio by Spring 2024.
HM Treasury
17
Recommendation
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
The uncertain and longer-term nature of innovation makes some level of failure inevitable.48 DESNZ, however, has yet to define what level of failure it could tolerate across the Framework, instead placing reliance on risk management by departments at programme and project level.49 The business case for each innovation programme includes …
Government response. The government agrees that the Net Zero Innovation Board's sub-group will develop an overall government risk appetite statement for net zero R&I programmes by Spring 2024.
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
We asked at what point DESNZ would pull the plug for a project that might not succeed. It explained that it carries out a review process across its portfolio using evidence and modelling to understand the impact of a low-carbon technology.51 DSIT added 41 Qq 33, 42, 43 42 C&AG’s …
Government response. The government agrees and commits that the Net Zero Innovation Board, via its sub-group, will develop an overall government risk appetite statement for net zero R&I programmes by Spring 2024. The Board will also regularly monitor portfolio progress, and DESNZ …
HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
We were told that the Innovation Delivery Board is starting to collate risk assessments for individual net zero innovation projects.53 DESNZ told us that there is an “honesty” about when an innovation project does not work compared with other government projects, because it is about seeing what does and does …
Government response. The government agrees and commits that the Net Zero Innovation Board, via its sub-group, will develop an overall government risk appetite statement for net zero R&I programmes by Spring 2024. The Board will also regularly monitor portfolio progress, and DESNZ …
HM Treasury
20
Recommendation
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
The complexity of public sector funding will make it hard for DESNZ and the Innovation Delivery Board to track spending.55 We challenged witnesses on how the Government will report to the public on progress against plans for delivering net zero innovations and reaching carbon objectives.56
Government response. The government agrees to improve public reporting on net zero innovation progress, committing DESNZ to publish an update on the Net Zero Research and Innovation Framework Delivery Plan by Spring 2025.
HM Treasury
21
Recommendation
Seventy-Ninth Report - Support for inno…
Accepted
DESNZ suggested that while it is a complex picture and the delivery plan was a first attempt at publishing details on net zero innovation, it accepted that government could be better at articulating its plans towards net zero.57 DESNZ said that it has produced several “weighty documents”, including the net …
Government response. The government agrees to enhance the articulation of its net zero plans and reporting, with DESNZ intending to publish an update on the Net Zero Research and Innovation Framework Delivery Plan's progress by Spring 2025.
HM Treasury