Recommendations & Conclusions
7 items
2
Recommendation
Fortieth Report - Achieving government’…
Not Addressed
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has the policy responsibility for the environment, but not the clout to hold other departments to account or manage trade-offs between policy areas. In July 2018, the Environmental Audit Committee recommended that government needed to do more to ensure that all departments, …
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The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has the policy responsibility for the environment, but not the clout to hold other departments to account or manage trade-offs between policy areas. In July 2018, the Environmental Audit Committee recommended that government needed to do more to ensure that all departments, not just Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, were held to account for oversight of the Plan. But the Comptroller and Auditor General found no evidence of shared ownership of the Plan, with the Implementation Board having no representation from delivery bodies outside of the Department’s own group. Moreover, no other department specifically mentioned the Plan in their single departmental plans for 2019. Government established a new cross- government board for the environment on 2 December 2020, in response to the Comptroller and Auditor General’s finding that joint working between departments on environmental issues was patchy. The Department expects this board will help manage trade-offs between policy areas, but it is not clear how it will decide between competing priorities. All environmental goals are closely linked and require joint working across government. It is therefore crucial that this board has the authority and influence to hold all parts of government to account and has robust processes for evaluating the effectiveness of policies across all departments. 6 Achieving government’s long-term environmental goals Recommendation: After the new cross-government environment board has been in operation for six months, the Department and Cabinet Office should carry out a review and report back to the Committee on the board’s effectiveness to assess whether it has achieved a step-change in accountability and ownership for the environment across government. The review should include whether it has been effective in managing trade-offs between policy areas and in assessing the effectiveness of environmental policies across departments.
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Government response AI summary
The government's response refers to a PAC conclusion about HM Revenue & Customs' Net Cash Requirement breach, completely failing to address the recommendation regarding reviewing the effectiveness of the cross-government environment board.
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HM Treasury
3
Recommendation
Fortieth Report - Achieving government’…
Not Addressed
Government still does not have a good grip of the total costs required to deliver its environmental goals and funding so far has been piecemeal. The Department received an additional £1 billion in funding for 2020–21 in the Spending Review 2020, though it is not clear how much of this …
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Government still does not have a good grip of the total costs required to deliver its environmental goals and funding so far has been piecemeal. The Department received an additional £1 billion in funding for 2020–21 in the Spending Review 2020, though it is not clear how much of this is genuinely new money for environmental work, as this includes a previously announced increase in flood defence spending over the next five years. The Environment Agency and Natural England have a key role to play in delivering the goals, but budget cuts over the last decade hinder their ability to do so alongside day-to-day responsibilities. Neither HM Treasury nor the Department has a good understanding of the total costs required to deliver government’s environmental goals. We recognise that costs cannot be pinned down precisely for such long-term issues, but we do expect the two departments to come to a shared view of the broad scale of costs involved. Without this, government’s approach to funding will continue to be piecemeal, with risks for value-for-money and for whether the goals can be achieved at all. Recommendation: In parallel with developing clear objectives to meet environmental goals, the Department should work together with the Treasury to review and outline the total costs required to meet these goals, and how these will be paid for, akin to the Treasury’s Net Zero review.
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Government response AI summary
The government's response refers to a PAC conclusion about the Home Office's Net Cash Requirement breach, completely failing to address the recommendation regarding reviewing and outlining total costs for environmental goals.
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HM Treasury
4
Recommendation
Fortieth Report - Achieving government’…
Not Addressed
Skills gaps in departments and arm’s length bodies jeopardise government’s capacity to deliver on its environmental ambitions. Progress towards environmental goals requires skills across government, and particularly in arm’s length bodies who have key responsibility for delivery of the goals. The Environment Agency has a particular risk of skills loss …
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Skills gaps in departments and arm’s length bodies jeopardise government’s capacity to deliver on its environmental ambitions. Progress towards environmental goals requires skills across government, and particularly in arm’s length bodies who have key responsibility for delivery of the goals. The Environment Agency has a particular risk of skills loss in nuclear and hazardous waste management, partly due to its inability to pay the market rate offered in the private sector. Moreover, there is more to do to make sure workforces are diverse and reflect the communities that these bodies work with. Progress has been made on gender, with the Environment Agency having a scheme in place to help recruit female engineers, and more than half of the Natural England workforce are women, but both bodies acknowledge that there is more work to do in recruiting Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates. Government must identify and fill skills gaps through diverse recruitment strategies to ensure it has the capacity to deliver on environmental goals. Targeted interventions such as the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, initially £40 million and extended in the Spending Review 2020 to £80 million, to create and retain ‘green’ jobs across the economy will also be key to success. Recommendation: The Department and the Treasury should work together to: • establish what skills gaps exist, across the key delivery partners and sectors, which are likely to inhibit government’s progress in achieving its environmental ambitions; Achieving government’s long-term environmental goals 7 • where there are such gaps, develop a realistic plan to close them; and • assess the impact of targeted interventions such as the Green Recovery Challenge Fund on safeguarding ‘green’ jobs.
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Government response AI summary
The government response does not address the recommendation regarding skills gaps but instead states that HM Treasury breached its Capital Annually Managed Expenditure total by £32 million.
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HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Fortieth Report - Achieving government’…
Not Addressed
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (the Department), HM Treasury, Natural England and the Environment Agency about achieving government’s long-term environmental goals.1
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On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (the Department), HM Treasury, Natural England and the Environment Agency about achieving government’s long-term environmental goals.1
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Government response AI summary
The government response does not address the committee's procedural conclusion about taking evidence but instead states that the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy breached its Resource Annually Managed Expenditure total by £4.9 billion.
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HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
Fortieth Report - Achieving government’…
Not Addressed
To deliver government’s ambitions as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (the Department) has lead responsibility for all environmental policy areas apart from climate change mitigation, for which the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has the policy lead. …
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To deliver government’s ambitions as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (the Department) has lead responsibility for all environmental policy areas apart from climate change mitigation, for which the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has the policy lead. Other parts of government including the Department for Transport, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and local authorities also have important 9 C&AG’s Report, para 18 10 Q 16 11 C&AG’s Report, Figure 6. 12 Q 12 13 C&AG’s Report, para 1.8 14 Qq 12–14 15 C&AG’s Report, para 1.18 16 Joint Nature Conservation Committee, United Kingdom’s 6th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 11 March 2019 10 Achieving government’s long-term environmental goals roles to play.17 In a July 2018 report on the Plan, the Environmental Audit Committee recommended that: “The government’s proposals for oversight and accountability of the Plan need to ensure all Government departments—not just Defra—are held to account.”18
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Government response AI summary
The government response reiterates the origins of the 25 Year Environment Plan and Defra's lead role, noting other government parts also play important roles, without addressing the broader cross-government accountability implied by the committee's reference.
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HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Fortieth Report - Achieving government’…
Not Addressed
We asked the Department whether it has sufficient clout to manage trade-offs where there is competition between departments; and how it plans to bring to bear its responsibility for leading government to deliver on the Plan.25 The Department expects that the new cross-government group will expose difficult choices and trade-offs …
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We asked the Department whether it has sufficient clout to manage trade-offs where there is competition between departments; and how it plans to bring to bear its responsibility for leading government to deliver on the Plan.25 The Department expects that the new cross-government group will expose difficult choices and trade-offs but told us that judgements on competing priorities will ultimately be made through escalating issues to Ministers or through cabinet committees such as the Climate Action Strategy and Implementation committees.26 In discussing how the Department will bring its responsibilities to bear, it told us that, with the introduction of the Environment Bill, certain environmental principles will be enshrined into the way policy is made and there will be a new legal framework and statutory targets that all departments will have to work with.27 The Department expects that the requirements placed on public authorities by the Environment Bill will become very noticeable to departments; and sees its new cross- government board as having a key role, to help departments gear up for the things they will have to do in law as the Environment Bill comes into effect.28 17 C&AG’s Report, para 5 18 Environmental Audit Committee, The Government’s 25 Year Plan for the Environment, Session 2017–19, HC 803, 24 July 2018 19 C&AG’s Report, para 15 20 C&AG’s Report, para 2.5 21 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.6, 14 22 Qq 54, 51–52 23 Q 23 24 Qq 52, 54 25 Qq 56–57 26 Qq 55–57 27 Q 54 28 Qq 57, 54 Achieving government’s long-term environmental goals 11 Funding and total costs
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Government response AI summary
The government response is truncated and merely repeats a portion of the original committee text, failing to provide any new information or address the underlying concern about managing cross-departmental trade-offs.
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HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Fortieth Report - Achieving government’…
Not Addressed
The Department received an additional £1 billion in funding for 2020–21 in the Spending Review, however it confirmed that this includes a previously announced increase in flood defence spending.29 It noted that the increase will allow for significant investment in other environmental areas, including tree planting and peatland restoration, however …
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The Department received an additional £1 billion in funding for 2020–21 in the Spending Review, however it confirmed that this includes a previously announced increase in flood defence spending.29 It noted that the increase will allow for significant investment in other environmental areas, including tree planting and peatland restoration, however was unable to specify the exact break down. It told us it would provide us with full details in due course.30
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation on funding but instead of providing the requested breakdown of the £1 billion, it commits to determining and publishing the costs for meeting new legally binding targets with HM Treasury by October 2022, to align with the next …
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HM Treasury