Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Accepted
Maximising the Bank’s impact will depend on close cooperation with government departments, but it has...
Recommendation
Maximising the Bank’s impact will depend on close cooperation with government departments, but it has not yet worked out how this will operate in practice. The Treasury intends the Bank to play an important role in achieving key elements of this government’s wider agenda on net zero and levelling up, as reflected in the Banks dual objectives. The Treasury expects the Bank to set out how it intends to work with stakeholders, including policy departments across government. To date the Bank has had limited communications with key stakeholders at senior levels, including the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. Engagement with DLUHC in particular will be critical to understanding the needs of local authorities, which will then inform the Bank’s loan and advisory programmes. The lack of clarity surrounding relations with other departments raises the risk that different organisations responsible for net zero and levelling-up could be pulling in different directions. Recommendation: In its Treasury Minute response, the Bank should describe its engagement strategy for working with government departments, focussing in the very short term on how it engages with those departments most critical to delivering its mission, including the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states a lead point of contact within the Bank has been assigned for key departments to understand government priorities and originate investment opportunities, supported by engagement with senior officials and examples of partnerships, and are now engaging with new departments after the restructuring.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation government’s strategic priorities for net zero and regional and economic growth is key to delivering the Bank’s mandate, so deepening engagement with government departments is an important priority. A lead point of contact within the Bank has been assigned for departments that are most critical to delivering our mission, each of whom has regular engagement with their department to understand the government’s strategic priorities and help originate and assess investment opportunities. This is supported by regular engagement between the Bank and senior government officials as needed. The Bank has met with senior officials in the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Levelling up Housing and Communities, the Department for Transport and Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS). For example, prior to the restructuring of departments, UKIB had regular strategic engagement with the Permanent Secretary of BEIS and an agreed joint workplan on key sectors. In December, UKIB announced a new partnership with BEIS which enables local authorities applying to the government’s Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) to access lending from the UKIB at preferential rates on the basis of the same application information submitted to the GHNF grant funding scheme. The Bank is now in the process of engaging with the new departments as announced on 7 February 2023, to continue to build on the relationships that the Bank had established with the same teams in the predecessor departments. The Bank is also in the process of engaging further the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.