Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Accepted
Robust data can be used to prioritise action and assess whether policies are affordable, but...
Recommendation
Robust data can be used to prioritise action and assess whether policies are affordable, but we are not convinced that departments are making sufficient effective use of the emissions data that they are already collecting and reporting. We asked BEIS, HM Treasury and Defra how they were using their own emissions data to inform policy and were not convinced that they were using it to full effect. HM Treasury noted that it had focused on reducing the number of business flights taken and the amount of paper it uses.38 It also confirmed that a major reason it had achieved emissions reduction targets in the past was because of wider work to decarbonise electricity generation in the UK.39 BEIS told us it had reduced emissions by 81%, but in terms of actions only mentioned installing solar panels, installing energy efficient light bulbs and setting up energy monitoring software.40
Government Response Summary
The government has based its plans on the best available data, reviews new data as decarbonisation maturity increases, and shares learning through working groups and steering boards, with sectoral caps introduced in 2022 to support funding distribution.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4. PAC conclusion: We are not convinced that departments are making effective use of the emissions data to drive decision-making. 4. PAC recommendation: BEIS should make full use of the data it collates to plan its decarbonisation activities and establish a process to regularly identify and share examples of good practice and learning in decarbonisation across central government and the wider public sector. 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 The government has based its plans for decarbonising the public sector on the best available data. As decarbonisation maturity increases across the sector, new data will be reviewed and, if appropriate, incorporated into existing modelling. There are also regular mechanisms to identify and share learning through working groups and cross-government steering boards, with high-performing departments leading sessions on best practice. For the public sector more widely, Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) and GGCs case studies highlight good practice, and local Net Zero Hubs offer a resource to share learning with local authorities and local organisations. 4.3 As the Committee notes, the PSDS awards funding on a first-come-first-served basis. Other mechanisms are being considered which would utilise other data, but these must be carefully balanced against deliverability considerations: the first-come-first-served approach enables applications to be assessed quickly, maximising the time that applicants have funding certainty to support the planning and delivery of their project. Alongside the first-come-first- served principle, the PSDS contains several elements to support funding to be spread fairly across the public sector. Sectoral caps for PSDS funding were introduced in 2022 to support funding distribution across different sectors in line with estimated emission shares. 4.4 Monitoring and evaluation of the PSDS is being undertaken to check progress against planned milestones, understand how well the scheme is delivering on its objectives, and analyse how the scheme has performed against its intended impacts. Final evaluation synthesis reports will be published in due course.