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House of Commons - Environmental Audit Committee: Energy Subsidies - HC 61

Ninth Report of Session 2013-14, Vol. 1: Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

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House of Commons - Environmental Audit Committee: Energy Subsidies - HC 61

Ninth Report of Session 2013-14, Vol. 1: Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

The Government is shifting the goal-posts on fuel poverty so that official statistics record far fewer households as fuel-poor. The changes to the fuel poverty definition and target, in part being made through amendments to the Energy Bill, should be stopped unless the Government is prepared to make a public commitment to end fuel poverty altogether. A short-term bid to cut bills must not throw energy and climate change policy off-course. In the longer term green levies could actually keep bills down if they drive energy efficiency improvements that cut the cost of heating our homes. Insulating homes and supporting green technologies is vital to help the fuel poor and cut the emissions causing climate change. At the Rio+20 Summit and the G20, the Government committed itself to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. The Government must set a target to reduce subsidies to harmful fossil fuels. The Government should also use the Autumn Statement as an opportunity to provide a clear and comprehensive analysis of energy subsidies in the UK. The report also looks at whether Government support for the new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point constitutes a subsidy and concludes that it does, despite the Government's assurance otherwise. The Government's policy of 'no public subsidy for new nuclear' requires it to provide only 'similar' support to that provided to other types of energy, but even on that basis the deal for Hinkley Point C is 'dissimilar', notably on support for decommissioning and waste.

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186

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The Stationery Office

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ISBN 10

0215064712

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9780215064714

House of Commons - Environmental Audit Committee: Biodiversity Ofsetting - HC 750

Sixth Report of Session 2013-14, Report Together with Formal Minutes Relating to the Report

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

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House of Commons - Environmental Audit Committee: Biodiversity Ofsetting - HC 750

Sixth Report of Session 2013-14, Report Together with Formal Minutes Relating to the Report

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

The Environmental Audit Committee reports that Government plans to introduce a system of 'biodiversity offsetting' for new building developments could enhance the way the planning system accounts for the damage done to valuable natural habitats, but the proposals must be improved to properly protect Britain's wildlife and woodlands. The Green Paper does not provide an evidence based analysis of how offsetting would deliver "biodiversity gain". The twenty minute assessment for calculating biodiversity losses at a site, proposed by Ministers, is also overly simplistic. It should include particular species, local habitat significance, ecosystem services provided - such as pollination and flood prevention - and 'ecosystem network' connectivity to reflect the full complexity of habitats. Sites of special scientific interest and ancient woodlands should be even more rigorously protected. A mandatory, rather than voluntary, offsetting system would allow more environmentally and economically viable offset projects to be brought forward. The report also warns of a danger that an offsetting market could produce many offsets of a similar, lowest-cost, type rather than a mixed range of habitats. Natural England should monitor schemes to ensure a balance of habitat types are covered in the offsets. It is also important to consider the implications of biodiversity offsetting for people's access to nature and well-being. A decision on the Government's offsetting proposals should not be made at this time. Offsetting pilots, set up in 2011, should be allowed to run their course and then be subjected to the independent evaluation previously promised by ministers.

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021506450X

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9780215064509

House of Commons - Environmental Audit Committee: Code for Suatainable Homes and the Housing Standards Review - HC 192

Eighth Report of Session 2013-14, Report Together with Formal Minutes Relating to the Report

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

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House of Commons - Environmental Audit Committee: Code for Suatainable Homes and the Housing Standards Review - HC 192

Eighth Report of Session 2013-14, Report Together with Formal Minutes Relating to the Report

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

In this report the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is urged to reconsider plans to axe a policy that has driven up home building standards and helped to create a thriving sustainable building industry in the UK. The Environmental Audit Committee criticises the Department for its decision to remove local authorities' discretion to set high standards on energy and water saving-using the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH)-in favour of a lowest-common-denominator national standard. DCLG's proposed needs test on the application of sustainability standards by local authorities also risks becoming a lawyers' charter, could curtail local choice, delay the construction of new homes and compel local authorities to incur unnecessary legal fees. DCLG also failed to take into account the latest evidence on the declining capital costs of fitting clean energy technology to homes in its Housing Standards Review, and the 2016 zero carbon homes standard has been successively watered down. The CSH is a proven policy mechanism for driving incremental improvements in sustainable home building. Lower-level CSH standards on energy use have been successfully embedded in Building Regulations over the six years since the policy was introduced. DCLG has not set out a replacement mechanism to drive sustainability in the future. The Committee recommends that DCLG: examines the latest research on the decreasing cost of clean energy technologies; maintains and refreshes the CSH as a tool for local authorities to lever in sustainability; retains CSH standards on sustainable construction materials to support green exports and green growth.

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0215064534

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9780215064530

House of Commons - Environmental Audit Committee: Sustainability - HC 613

Seventh Report of Session 2013-14, Report, Together with Formal Minutes Relating to the Report

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee

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House of Commons - Environmental Audit Committee: Sustainability - HC 613

Seventh Report of Session 2013-14, Report, Together with Formal Minutes Relating to the Report

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee

This report examines how well new processes and systems for embedding sustainable development are working in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. This is the first report of its kind - examining an individual department in this way - by the Committee. It examines BIS performance against sustainable operations targets, the role of a 'Sustainability Champion' and a Sustainability Committee in BIS, and how well sustainability considerations are taken into account in policy-making case studies. These case studies included the Regional Growth Fund and the Industrial Strategies initiative. They found that overall the Department was delivering on their sustainable operations targets, although that was in part the result of reductions in staffing and the size of the BIS estate. On policy-making, however, analysis of specific case studies indicates that environmental and social aspects of sustainability are not getting the same attention as economic factors. The assessment process needs to be reformed to do so. Defra and the Cabinet Office should challenge other government departments which have similar grant schemes to do the same. They are also disconnected from the BIS Business Plan process, weakening the main vehicle by which Defra and the Cabinet Office challenge the sustainability-proofing of BIS policy-making. BIS, including its agencies and NDPBs, should produce sustainable development strategies, to provide a reference point for sustainability initiatives by senior management and the sustainability champion, and to allow all staff to readily understand the wider sustainable development imperatives

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0215064518

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9780215064516

House of Commons - Envirionmental Audit Committee: Green Finance - HC 191

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee,Joan Walley

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House of Commons - Envirionmental Audit Committee: Green Finance - HC 191

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee,Joan Walley

The Environmental Audit Committee points out that there is a large green finance gap. Investments are currently running at less than half of the £200 billion needed in energy infrastructure alone by 2020 to deliver national and international emissions reduction targets. And stock markets could be inflating a 'carbon bubble' by over-valuing companies with fossil fuel assets that will have to be left unburned in order to limit climate change. The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee should seek advice from the independent Committee on Climate Change to help it monitor the systemic risk to financial stability associated with a carbon bubble. To address the green finance gap, the Government must provide a joined-up, stable and certain policy framework that maintains investor confidence and helps markets price in the cost of carbon. The Green Investment Bank has made a good start but does not currently have the power to borrow in order to leverage and enlarge its investments - limiting its potential to fill the green finance gap. Take up of the Green Deal has been poor and the Government must make it simpler and more attractive to households. The European Commission's (EC) proposed new rules for State Aid in the energy sector could limit the finance available to support community owned energy schemes. The Government must play a central role in agreeing ambitious and binding international commitments on climate change, both in the EU and in the run up to the UN climate talks in Paris 2015.

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176

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0215069323

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9780215069320

House of Commons - Environmental Audit Office: Progress on Carbon Budgets - HC 60

Fifth Report of Session 2013-14, Vol. 1: Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

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House of Commons - Environmental Audit Office: Progress on Carbon Budgets - HC 60

Fifth Report of Session 2013-14, Vol. 1: Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

The UK's existing carbon budgets represent the minimum level of emissions reduction required to avoid a global 2 degrees temperature rise - regarded as a dangerous threshold - and the UK's leading climate scientists do not believe loosening the budgets is warranted. The current (2008-2012) and second (2013-2017) carbon budgets will be easily met because of the recession. But the UK is not on track to meet the third (2018-22) and fourth budgets (2023-2027), because not enough progress is being made in decarbonising transport, buildings and heat production. The Government's Carbon Plan - which set milestones for five key Government Departments to cut carbon - is out of date without any quarterly progress reports published yet. The Green Deal has also had low take-up rates so far. The Government should set a 2030 decarbonisation target for the power sector now, rather than in 2016 as the Energy Bill sets out. The Government should also reconsider placing a statutory duty on local authorities to produce low-carbon plans for their area. The current low-carbon price in the EU ETS - the result of the economic downturn of recent years and over-allocation of emissions permits - also means that that scheme will not deliver the emissions reductions envisaged when the fourth carbon budget was set. Without any tightening of the EU ETS increased pressure will therefore be placed on the non-traded sector, which will have to produce further emissions reductions to cover the emerging gap left by the traded sector

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160

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0215062477

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9780215062475

The impact of UK overseas aid on environmental protection and climate change adaptation and mitigation

fifth report of session 2010-12, Vol. 1: Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

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The impact of UK overseas aid on environmental protection and climate change adaptation and mitigation

fifth report of session 2010-12, Vol. 1: Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

The Environmental Audit Committee states that the UK should only provide funding for multilateral institutions with strong environmental credentials. The current scale of the World Bank's lending to fossil fuel powered energy generation is unacceptable and the Committee urges the Government to be prepared to vote against new World Bank funding for high emissions coal-fired power stations. The profile of climate change has increased hugely but there is far less awareness of the importance of protecting biodiversity and ecosystems. The Committee believes that the Department for International Development (DFID) needs to publish a clear strategy on its approach to environmental issues to ensure that it gives them sufficient priority in its programmes and expenditure. Every effort must be made to help emerging economies leap-frog fossil fuels and fuel their growth with clean energy instead. High levels of consumption in the UK increases demand on production in poor countries which leads to degradation of their natural resources. The report calls on the UK Government to ensure that economic activity in Britain does not cancel out, or even reverse, the positive impact that UK aid is having overseas.

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228

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0215560299

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9780215560292

HS2 and the Environment - HC 1076

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee,Joan Walley

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HS2 and the Environment - HC 1076

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee,Joan Walley

The Government needs to show real commitment to dealing with the impact that HS2 will have on our countryside and wildlife. It is imperative that an infrastructure project on such a large scale implements proper environmental safeguards and ensures that impacts are minimised. That won't happen if HS2 Ltd can avoid implementing safeguards if they consider them to be 'impracticable' or 'unreasonable'. There needs to be a separate ring-fenced budget for these safeguards and for compensation, separate from the rest of the HS2 budget, to prevent the environment being squeezed if HS2 costs grow. The Government's aim of 'no net biodiversity loss' on HS2 is not good enough - it should aim for environmental gains that the Government promised in its white paper on the Natural Environment. In any case, the Government can't demonstrate it will cause no net harm because it has still not surveyed 40% of the land to be used. Ancient woodland should be treated with particular care. HS2 will damage some woodlands, and where that happens, compensation measures should be much higher than the level indicated in the calculation that HS2 Ltd will use. The HS2 Hybrid Bill will be given its second reading on 28 April, after which it will be referred to a dedicated select committee to examine 'petitions' against it. The Committee criticises the procedure's failure to fully address the requirements of EU and national directives on environmental assessments, which it wants to be at least partly rectified in the forthcoming Parliamentary proceedings

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0215070739

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9780215070739

Trade, Development and Environment

The Role of DFID; Tenth Report of Session 2005-06; Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

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Trade, Development and Environment

The Role of DFID; Tenth Report of Session 2005-06; Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

This report finds that Department for International Development (DFID) has the potential to take the lead internationally on integrating the environment into development: the structures and links exist but there is still an under-appreciation of the role of the environment in sustainable development. The report sets out the background, covering what poor people want, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, and Millennium Development Goals. It then considers development aid and how it is changing. Then the DFID's performance in integrating environment into development is critically examined. Subjects covered include DFID policy, water, climate and energy, agriculture, growth, environmental capacity, environmental screening, and the environment strategy. The Committee notes the failure of the Department to develop a coherent approach on the ground, as a damning review of country programmes has shown. It also highlights many areas where policy is poorly drafted and implemented, and where the Department's environmental expertise has been allowed to wither. The recent White Paper, 'Eliminating world poverty' (2006, Cm. 6876, ISBN 0101687621) is seen as a missed opportunity to make the environment as central to its work as the Department itself has made clear it should be.

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242

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0215030540

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9780215030542

The World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002

A UK Progress Report, Third Report of Session 2004-05, Report, Together with Appendix and Formal Minutes

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee

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The World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002

A UK Progress Report, Third Report of Session 2004-05, Report, Together with Appendix and Formal Minutes

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee

This is a follow-up to the Committees report (HCP 98, session 2002-03, ISBN 021501328X) which looked at the outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), which took place in Johannesburg in 2002. This report examines the UK implementation of the WDC commitments. A briefing by the National Audit Office (included in this report) reviews the co-operation between the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the UN Sustainable Development Commission (SDC). The WSSD Table of Commitments should be regarded as a delivery mechanism, even though it was not drafted clearly enough. UK Government departments should incorporate WSSD commitments more vigorously into their departmental activities, and there should be more comprehensive and frequent progress reports for the benefit of Parliament, the general public, and the SDC.

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0215022408

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9780215022400

Waste Policy and the Landfill Directive

Fourth Report of Session 2004-2005, Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

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Waste Policy and the Landfill Directive

Fourth Report of Session 2004-2005, Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

400 million tonnes of waste is produced in England and Wales from industrial, commercial and household sources, with 375 million tonnes produced in England alone. Following on from its previous report on waste management issues (HCP 385-I, session 2002-03, ISBN 0215010876) published in May 2003, the Committee's report focuses on the progress being made to meet targets for recycling, and the impact of the EU Landfill Directive on reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills, particularly in hazardous waste landfill capacity. Findings include that waste policy has a lower public profile than many other environmental issues, and its development is hindered by a lack of quality data. Concerns are raised about the level of hazardous waste that is unaccounted for, following the ending of co-disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste in the same landfill. Government funding for research into new treatment technologies is welcomed, but more investment is needed; and the planning system is a key influence on the country's waste management capacity. The Committee also recommends that the Landfill Tax should be increased to £35 per tonne; and that the introduction of local authority schemes to promote household waste recycling should be left at the discretion of local councils, with variable charging schemes only introduced if this can avoid disadvantaging low-income families.

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250

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0215022874

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9780215022875

Greening government

sixth report of session 2008-09, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

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Greening government

sixth report of session 2008-09, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

This is the Committee's eighth report on the sustainable operations on the Government estate. There has been some progress against targets but the Sustainable Development Commission has found that in 2007-08 the Government was not on track to meet its target for the reduction of carbon emissions from its own buildings. The Government was on track to meet its targets for recycling and for the sourcing of electricity from renewable sources, but it performed less well than it had in 2006-07. It must improve the sustainability of its operations each year. The ease with which the Government continues to meet some targets, even when its performance worsens, indicates the urgent need for the Government to set itself more stringent targets. The Government should extend the system of targets and monitoring beyond central government and agencies to the wider public sector, including its outsourced operations. The Government has the potential to drive change in the wider economy through sustainable procurement, through investment in low carbon technologies and by driving the development of "green" skills in the workforce. But the Sustainable Development Commission found that Government performed poorly against its own targets. The Government must use its buying power to drive progress towards a greener economy. Many of the changes to the governance of Government's sustainable operations have been confusing or ineffective. The Government must ensure that there is a clear line of accountability for these matters, and the Cabinet Office Minister responsible must take an active role in overseeing performance management.

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100

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0215540786

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9780215540782

The Export Credits Guarantee Department and Sustainable Development

Eleventh Report of Session 2007-08; Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee

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The Export Credits Guarantee Department and Sustainable Development

Eleventh Report of Session 2007-08; Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee

Since last investigated in 2003, the Export Credits Guarantee Department has continued to make progress on sustainable development that deserves to be recognised. Sound foundations have been laid and mechanisms put in place that offer a good framework for further action. There is still room for improvement in the way sustainable development is incorporated into the agency's decision-making and the ECGD must ensure its activities are in line with wider Government aspirations on sustainable development. The challenge is for the ECGD to demonstrate that sustainable development is given appropriate weight within its current remit and that it does nothing that would actively undermine this principle. In particular, the ECGD should identify areas where its environmental standards could be tightened. More rigorous standards can then be applied across its portfolio, including to aerospace exports. The ECGD must improve the transparency of its assessment processes and increase the level of disclosure of project information. It is important that the department does more to attract renewable energy and other projects that support sustainable development; support from Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR) will be vital in taking this forward. The ECGD's approach to sustainable development is all the more important because of its ability to influence and raise standards internationally. A bolder approach from the ECGD on sustainable development issues and transparency will be vital in improving the performance of Export Credit Agencies in general.

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128

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The Stationery Office

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0215523903

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9780215523907

Halting Biodiversity Loss

Thirteenth Report of Session 2007-08; Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee

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Halting Biodiversity Loss

Thirteenth Report of Session 2007-08; Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee

This is the thirteenth report from the Environmental Audit Committee of the 2007-08 session (HCP 743, ISBN 9780215524843). The Committee states, that the Government will fail to meet the 2010 traget to halt biodiversity loss, although the target might have been unrealistic. The Committee does see some progress, with 80% of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSIs) in a favourable condition, with a number of rare species having recovered. In general though, biodiversity loss continues in the wider countryside with many species and habitats facing severe declines and local extinctions. The Committee does believe though that with leadership and effective policies, biodiversity loss could in fact be reversed, and states the Government should adopt a new target to halt the loss. Biodiversity policies need to be cross-departmental, and the Government's ecosystem assessment is a way forward, by encouraging such an approach and promoting biodiversity protection at the regional and local scales. The Committee further states that the Government could make a large contribution in preventing biodiversity loss through more support for the UK Overseas Territories.

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224

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0215524845

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9780215524843

Transport and accessibility to public services

third report of session 2013-14, Vol. 1: Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

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Transport and accessibility to public services

third report of session 2013-14, Vol. 1: Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

This report looks at progress on improving accessibility since 2003 and ways of improving accessibility. Problems with transport provision and the location of services can reinforce social exclusion by preventing people from accessing key local services and undermines government policies to tackle worklessness, increase participation in education, reduce crime and narrow health inequalities. Insufficient progress has been made since the 2003 Social Exclusion Unit's Making the Connections report, many findings of which are relevant today. There is evidence that accessibility is worsening, driven by tight budgets in central and local government. Accessibility statistics show travel times to key services steadily increasing over time, particularly for access to hospitals. The Department for Transport needs to focus more closely on improving accessibility as well as on supporting the economy. Existing transport funding could be better coordinated and directed to 'accessibility'-focused initiatives, which will have a swifter impact on people's well-being than large infrastructure projects. The social value of transport and accessibility needs to be explicitly considered in policy-making and in the planning system and should no longer be seen as a second-order criterion.The Committee believes it will take time for any improvements to make a noticeable difference. Their recommendations focus on improving how government operates rather than funding. Central government cannot abdicate its role in coordinating action across departmental silos and helping local authorities and service providers to share best practice. Accessibility planning, introduced by Making the Connections, has had limited success and needs to be re-energised.

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160

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0215059093

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9780215059093

Embedding sustainable development across Government, after the Secretary of State's announcement on the future of the Sustainable Development Commission

first report of session 2010-11, Vol. 1: Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

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Embedding sustainable development across Government, after the Secretary of State's announcement on the future of the Sustainable Development Commission

first report of session 2010-11, Vol. 1: Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

Funding of the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) will cease at the end of March 2011, and Defra's capability and presence to improve the sustainability of Government will be increased. Whilst regretting the Government's decision to stop funding the SDC, the Committee sees an opportunity to reassess and revitalise the architecture for delivering sustainable development. The experience of SDC's work within Government departments to improve their sustainability skills and performance is at risk of being lost, so the Government must ensure that this knowledge and expertise is absorbed by departments. Sustainable development needs to be driven from the centre of Government by a Minister and department with Whitehall-wide influence. They must be capable of holding all departments to account for their sustainable development performance. The Committee does not think Defra is best placed to lead this drive, and recommends that the Cabinet Office assume this role. And the Treasury could use its position to continue to develop 'sustainability reporting' by departments, strengthen the system of impact assessments and the 'Green Book' investment appraisal methodology for policy-making, and embed the results of the Government Economic Service review of the economics of sustainability and environmental valuation into those impact assessments and appraisals. Greater political leadership from the top should be brought to bear. The Government must introduce a full set of indicators to measure sustainable development that can be used to develop policy and must provide a new strategic underpinning for its commitment to sustainable development as an overarching goal of Government policy-making.

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152

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0215555813

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9780215555816

HC 470 - Building public engagement: Options for developing select committee outreach

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Liaison Committee

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HC 470 - Building public engagement: Options for developing select committee outreach

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Liaison Committee

In 2012 the House of Commons introduced a new 'core task' for all select committees that focused on public engagement as a distinctive and explicit factor of their work. This report focuses on how the select committees have responded to the new core task. Three core conclusions emerged: a) there has been a significant shift within the select committee system to taking public engagement seriously and this is reflected in many examples of innovation; b) this shift, however, has not been systematic and levels of public engagement vary significantly from committee to committee; and c) a more vibrant and systematic approach to public engagement is urgently needed but this will require increased resources, a deeper appreciation of the distinctive contribution that select committees can make and a deeper cultural change at Westminster. This report therefore details innovations in relation to the use of social media, the structure of inquiries and innovative outreach. Public engagement has not yet been fully embedded into the culture of parliament but there is evidence of significant 'cracks and wedges' that can now be built-upon and extended during the 2015-20 Parliament. Clearly the focus of the committee and the topic of the inquiry will have some bearing on the approach to engagement adopted but a more expansive and ambitious approach across the board is to be encouraged. This report leads to a ten-point set of inter-related recommendations but they can all be connected in the sense that the existing social research demonstrates a clear desire on the part of the public to 'do politics differently'.

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0215087984

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9780215087980

Overseas Territories

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee

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Overseas Territories

By: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee

Overseas Territories : Seventh report of session 2007-08, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence

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388

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0215521501

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9780215521507

Pre-budget 2006 and the Stern Review

fourth report of session 2006-07, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

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Pre-budget 2006 and the Stern Review

fourth report of session 2006-07, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee

As part of the Committee's annual inquiry into the Treasury's Pre-Budget Report (PBR) and the progress made towards achieving environmental objectives with regards to its tax and spending policies, this publication examines the PBR's fiscal policy announcements in relation to the aviation, motoring, waste and energy sectors, focusing on the findings of the Stern Review of the economics of climate change (ISBN 9780102944204) published in October 2006. Amongst the 40 conclusions and recommendations made, the Committee notes that the Stern Review highlights the central problem involved in efforts to address the effects of global warning, that is the need to take action now before the more serious effects have begun to be felt in order to benefit future generations, a problem that will be both practically and politically challenging. The Committee urges the Government to use the Stern Report in order to promote a better informed public discussion of the science of climate change, so that we can use the limited window of opportunity presently available to prevent greenhouse gases growing to dangerous levels beyond which there are risks of major irreversible impacts, and recognising the Stern Review's accompanying argument that the sooner the world begins to cut its emissions, the easier and less costly mitigation will become.

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Page Count

190

Publisher

The Stationery Office

Published Date

ISBN 10

0215033183

ISBN 13

9780215033185

Water Management

8th Report of Session 2005-06

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Science and Technology Committee

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Water Management

8th Report of Session 2005-06

By: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Science and Technology Committee

The Committee's report examines a range of issues relating to water management in England and Wales, including the regulatory and legislative framework, water demand and supply issues, water efficiency, and environmental aspects including the Water Framework Directive. Amongst the 60 conclusions and recommendations made, the Committee finds that a sustainable balance between water resource development and demand management cannot be achieved until there is a co-ordinated institutional framework for water resource management, with a need for wider stakeholder engagement by means of new regional boards consisting of environmental and consumer interests, as well as Ofwat representatives. Ofwat and the Environment Agency should take a more realistic approach to long-term planning issues, including agreeing indicative pricing for each water company. Current levels of leakage from the distribution network are unacceptably high in parts of the country, which damages the public's attitude towards sensible water use, and Ofwat should sanction water companies to spend more on reducing leakage with targets that take greater account of environmental and social factors as well as economics. The Government should make it easier for water companies to impose water meters on households in the driest parts of the country, in order to help reduce demand and ensure fairer charging practices, with support through the tax and benefit system for vulnerable customers who have difficulty with their bills. In order to address the very high level of unpaid water bills, those people who can afford to pay but refuse to do so should be partially disconnected from the water supply.

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