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Forty-Sixth Report - Achieving Net Zero

Public Accounts Committee HC 935 Published 5 March 2021
Report Status
Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations
23 items (9 recs)
Government Response
AI assessment · 21 of 23 classified
Accepted 13
Acknowledged 6
Not Addressed 2
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Forty-sixth report from Session 2019-21 · published 31 Aug 2021
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Recommendations & Conclusions

6 items
3 Recommendation Acknowledged

HM Treasury has not yet clarified how it will ensure net zero is given adequate...

Recommendation
HM Treasury has not yet clarified how it will ensure net zero is given adequate weight in the assessment of government policies and projects. Achieving net zero will be an all-encompassing challenge requiring all parts of government to contribute to … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation but describes existing Spending Review guidance, ongoing reviews of learning, and future publications, without specifically outlining the requested details on ensuring net zero consideration, stress-testing, and skills development across Whitehall.
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Acknowledged

We asked what the Department was doing to ensure that it would be able to...

Conclusion
We asked what the Department was doing to ensure that it would be able to track progress towards net zero when responsibility was shared across departments. The Department told us that the new coordination structures provided it with clarity on … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the underlying sentiment of tracking progress, referring to existing annual 'Energy and Emissions Projections' and committing to set out more detailed metrics for tracking progress in a comprehensive Net Zero Strategy.
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion Acknowledged

Net zero is an all-encompassing challenge that will affect every part of government.

Conclusion
Net zero is an all-encompassing challenge that will affect every part of government. It will not be achieved if it is not sufficiently prioritised when departments make decisions that could impact on greenhouse gas emissions.18 We asked whether other departmental … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the underlying sentiment, explaining that Spending Review 2020 guidance required departments to include emissions of bids and that HM Treasury is reviewing learning from this exercise for future spending reviews.
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion Acknowledged

We asked what impact measures such as the Green Book guidance had on major infrastructure...

Conclusion
We asked what impact measures such as the Green Book guidance had on major infrastructure projects like High Speed 2. The Department told us that departments were each responsible for ensuring that the projects within their areas remained below their … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the underlying sentiment, explaining that Spending Review 2020 guidance required departments to include emissions of bids and that HM Treasury is reviewing learning from this exercise for future spending reviews.
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion Acknowledged

We asked the Treasury why, in its updated Green Book, it had not introduced a...

Conclusion
We asked the Treasury why, in its updated Green Book, it had not introduced a specific requirement for policies to explain how they aligned with net zero. The Treasury told us that the guidance already required Departments to consider greenhouse … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the underlying sentiment, explaining that Spending Review 2020 guidance required departments to include emissions of bids and that HM Treasury is reviewing learning from this exercise for future spending reviews.
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion Acknowledged

The Department acknowledged that it needed to consider place-related aspects to achieving net zero and...

Conclusion
The Department acknowledged that it needed to consider place-related aspects to achieving net zero and how local authorities could be involved in co-ordinating the changes needed in areas such as transport and energy.42 The Department told the National 36 Qq … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees a clearer statement of national, regional, and local responsibilities is needed and will provide a more comprehensive statement on local authority engagement within the Net Zero Strategy, building on existing collaboration.
HM Treasury
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