Chapter 5
Sending the Right Signals

• Home
• What is sustainable development?
• Advice & support
• What Government is doing
• International
• Reviewing progress
• Publications
• About us

5.1 To make sustainable development a reality, it must be built into policies and decisions. This Strategy sets a broad framework to help that happen. But we also need specific measures to drive change, both at home and abroad.

Top

Better decision-making

5.2 The Government is putting sustainable development at the heart of every Government Department's work:

• it has created a powerful Cabinet Committee on the Environment, which co-ordinates policy on sustainable development;
• it has revitalised the system of 'Green Ministers'. Their job is to oversee systems for integrating the environment into each Department's policies and operations. In May 1998, they agreed a framework from which Departments have drawn up their own strategies for improving environmental performance; the introduction of environmental management systems across Government will help further improve performance;
• it has created an inter-Departmental group on international development to promote consistency on issues relevant to developing countries.

Top

5.3 Following a commitment in the 1997 Labour Party Manifesto, the House of Commons established an Environmental Audit Committee to consider how policies and programmes of Government Departments and non-departmental public bodies contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development. The Government particularly welcomes the Committee's emerging practice of returning to topics to assess progress, and to identify where weaknesses still exist.

5.4 In future, whenever the Government creates a public body, it will consider whether to include sustainable development in its remit. It is reviewing the scope for including sustainable development as an objective of existing Departments and public bodies.

5.5 There are already appraisal systems which look separately at the economic, environmental, health, transport, regulatory and equal opportunities aspects of policies. The Government has strengthened mechanisms for environmental appraisal, including new policy guidance for Government Departments.¹ It is committed to a better understanding of the impacts of policies on different groups in society, particularly women, ethnic minorities, and the disabled and ensuring that findings are taken into account in policy making.²

Top

Road Proposals - new approach to appraisal

The Government has developed a new approach to the appraisal of road scheme proposals. Schemes, and other projects, are assessed against criteria of environmental impact; safety; economy; accessibility (to public transport services, for example); and integration with land use and other transport proposals and polices. This approach allows options for solving transport problems to be compared and decisions taken in the light of environmental, social and economic impacts. The new approach has been developed in consultation with English Nature, English Heritage, the Environment Agency and the former Countryside Commission (now Countryside Agency). Development is continuing so that it can be applied to other modes of transport.

5.6 For sustainable development to be achieved, economic, social and environmental impacts need to be considered together when policies are being devised or reviewed. The Modernising GovernmentWhite Paper commits the Government to produce and deliver an integrated system of impact assessment and appraisal tools in support of sustainable development, covering impacts on business, the environment, health and the needs of particular groups in society.³

Top

The Women's Unit

In the past, women's views were often under-represented in policy making. The Minister for Women and the Women's Unit in the Cabinet Office now help to promote women's interests, and to communicate their concerns and insights. Many sustainable development issues are of particular concern to women - such as availability and safety of public transport, accessibility of facilities to parents with young children, and environmental health.

Top

Taxes, regulation and other policy instruments

5.7 The Government will explore the scope for using economic instruments, such as taxes and charges, to deliver more sustainable development. Such measures can promote change, innovation and efficiency, and higher environmental standards. They are a way to put the 'polluter pays' principle into practice, although care is needed to consider the impact on competitiveness and the social consequences: for example, ensuring that the price of essential goods like fuel or water does not lead to hardship for the least well-off.

5.8 Over time, the Government will aim to reform the tax system in ways which deliver a more dynamic economy and a cleaner environment: shifting taxes from 'goods' like employment, towards 'bads' such as pollution. It will consider carefully how revenues from taxes are used, although there are no firm rules.⁴ The 1999 Budget included the biggest ever package of tax reforms to protect the environment.

Top

Economic instruments for sustainable development

The Government has taken several measures to secure more sustainable development through economic instruments, including:

• a fuel duty differential in favour of 'ultra-low sulphur diesel'. As a result, this significantly cleaner fuel should account for almost all diesel sold in the UK by the end of 1999;
• a commitment to increase duty on petrol and diesel each year by 6% above inflation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from road transport, 1% higher than the previous Government's commitment;
• a levy will be introduced on business use of energy in 2001, after further consultation with industry. It will be introduced on a revenue neutral basis, with offsetting cuts in employers' national insurance contributions. £50 million of support will also be provided to encourage business to invest in new environmental technologies and renewable fuels. The Government intends to set lower rates of tax for those energy intensive sectors agreeing targets for improvements in energy efficiency which meet the Government's criteria;
• a long term, revenue neutral reform of company car taxation to remove the incentive to drive additional business miles, and encourage the take up of more fuel efficient vehicles;
• from June 1999, a reduction in Vehicle Excise Duty to £100 for cars with the smallest engine sizes;
• the standard rate of landfill tax was increased to £10 per tonne from April 1999, and will further increase by £1 per tonne each year for at least the next five years.

Top

5.9 Subsidies, including tax relief, also have a role in some circumstances: for example, the 1999 Budget increased funding for the Government's rural transport fund to £120 million for the next two years, to extend the range of public transport services in rural communities. But care is needed not to subsidise changes which would have happened anyway. The Government will aim to avoid 'perverse subsidies' which, in promoting one objective, work against sustainable development overall. Future reporting on the strategy will include measures taken on environmental taxes and subsidies.

Top

5.10 Where new regulation is used, it will conform to the Government's principles of better regulation, so that it is targeted at the problem in hand; clear and simple to understand; applied consistently, proportionate to the problem and the circumstances of individual businesses, voluntary groups and others; and enforced effectively and constructively by a body accountable for its conduct.⁵ Those regulated need flexibility to find reliable, cost-effective ways to comply.

Top

5.11 The Government will continue to consider the scope for voluntary agreements with industry. It has, for example, asked the aggregates industry to deliver an improved package of voluntary measures which address the significant environmental costs of aggregate extraction. If the industry is unable to deliver, then an aggregates tax will be imposed.

Top

5.12 Which instrument is appropriate has to be determined on a case by case basis, taking account of economic, social and environmental consequences. The Government, for example, has decided not to proceed with a national tax or charges on water pollution since research has shown that this may not be the most effective way of securing targeted improvements in water quality. Often the best solution will be to mix instruments.

Top

5.13 Where the aim of policy instruments is to limit pollution, it may sometimes be necessary for those producing the pollution to incur higher expenditure on abatement equipment. In the long term, however, the aim should be to move to cleaner processes, rather than adding on clean-up equipment. The new set of sustainable development indicators includes an indicator of expenditure on pollution abatement. Increases in such expenditure are not, in themselves, a sign of sustainable development. But such an indicator, if taken in context with other indicators, can help to show up unsustainable trends: for example, if abatement expenditure and pollution both continued to rise.

Top

Mixing instruments for better outcomes

• household energy efficiency and fuel poverty aims are secured by grants for energy saving investment and by information campaigns. A reduced VAT rate on energy saving materials under grant schemes for the less well-off was introduced in July 1998; the Government has asked the European Commission to consider changes to EU law to allow a reduced rate on energy saving materials in other circumstances.
• reducing the proportion of waste going to landfill involves regulation on landfill site design and operation; the landfill tax; and promotion of alternative means of waste management, such as recycling.

Top

Information and involvement

5.14 Improved awareness of sustainable development can be a powerful tool for change. In March 1998, the Government launched Are you doing your bit?, a campaign in England which focuses on specific issues related to sustainable development and shows people how they can influence their local and global environment. Early themes covered climate change and energy efficiency, transport and air quality. In 1999, it will extend to packaging, waste and water conservation, and links between transport and health. The Government will work with public bodies, voluntary organisations, business and trade unions to reinforce the campaign's messages.

Top

5.15 In 1998, the Government set up the Sustainable Development Education Panel, whose remit covers schools, further and higher education bodies, and education in work, recreation and the home. The Panel's first Annual Report sets goals for the next ten years, and makes recommendations to a wide range of stakeholders.⁶ The Government will respond to the Report later in 1999. The Panel has made recommendations on sustainable development education to the National Curriculum review, setting out what children should know about sustainable development by the ages of 7, 11, 14 and 16. Consultation on the revised National Curriculum will take place later in 1999, before its formal introduction in 2000.

Top

The Children's Parliament on the Environment

The Government launched this competition for 10-11 year old schoolchildren in 1998 as an opportunity for schools to develop children's understanding of sustainable development and the democratic process. Children from 3,500 schools registered to take part in the competition which involved essay writing and debating competitions. Six winners from each region will take part in the Children's Parliament in May. The children will be able to question Government Ministers and present their action plan to the Prime Minister.

Top

5.16 Many responses to Opportunities for changewanted the media, in particular television, to give sustainable development a higher profile. The Government will aim to help: for example, through information on the headline indicators and awareness raising through Are you doing your bit?.

5.17 The Government will continue to consult widely on policies related to sustainable development. It will consider the potential of methods highlighted in the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's 1998 report on Setting Environmental Standards:⁷ for example, consensus conferences and citizens juries. It has set up the People's Panel, which consists of 5,000 people selected at random from across the country, to seek views on how to improve public services.

Top

5.18 The Government's proposed Freedom of Information Act will mean new rights to information, including improved rights to environmental information.⁸ To provide better information on industrial processes and the substances they release to the environment, the Government is developing, through the Environment Agency, a new pollution inventory to replace the current Chemical Release Inventory.

Top

Research and advice

5.19 Research, analysis and innovation are fundamental for long term change. Much takes place in the private sector; and the Government will continue to encourage this through schemes to support research and development and the spread of best practice and networking. More generally, the Comprehensive Spending Review⁹ delivered an additional £1.4 billion over three years in funding for science.

Top

5.20 The Government has made sustainable development an underpinning theme of its Foresight programme.¹⁰ Foresight aims to promote wealth creation and better quality of life by looking at future needs, opportunities and threats, and how developments in science could help the UK to meet these challenges.

Top

5.21 The next stage of Foresight will consider the ageing population, manufacturing changes in the next twenty years, and crime prevention, as well as important sectors: the built environment and transport; chemicals; defence and aerospace; energy and the natural environment; financial services; the food chain and industrial crops; healthcare; information, communications and media; materials; and retail and consumer services.

Top

Preparing for an ageing population

The increasing age of the population will affect many aspects of sustainable development. The Foresight programme will be looking at issues such as healthcare provision, transport, and retail, consumer and financial services specifically from the perspective of the needs of an ageing population.

Top

5.22 An increasing amount of Government support through the Research Councils has sustainable development as a theme. Physical and biological sciences, engineering, economics and social sciences are all relevant. For example:

Top

• the Economic and Social Research Council is launching a new programme on 'Delivering Sustainability';
• the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has current or planned programmes on sustainable cities, waste minimisation, integrated transport and sustainable manufacturing.

Top

5.23 The Government aims to improve the public's understanding of science and to secure public confidence in how the Government uses the best available scientific advice in decision making. Implementation of the Chief Scientific Adviser's guidelines on the use of scientific advice in policy making is an important part of this work.¹¹ These guidelines expand on the key considerations for using scientific knowledge outlined in chapter 4.

Top

ADVISORY BODIES

5.24 The 1994 strategy created the British Government Panel on Sustainable Development and the UK Round Table on Sustainable Development. The Panel advises on major strategic issues for sustainable development. The Round Table consists of people drawn from a variety of organisations and interests and seeks to build consensus about ways of achieving sustainable development.

Top

5.25 To help take forward this Strategy and to provide a focal point for considering sustainable development in this country, the Government proposes to establish, from the beginning of 2000, a new Sustainable Development Commission. This will subsume the Panel and the Round Table. The Commission's main responsibility will be to monitor progress on sustainable development, and to build consensus on action to be taken by all sectors to accelerate its achievement. The Government will be discussing further with the Panel, the Round Table and other interested groups the precise remit and working methods for the Commission.

Top

5.26 The Government will continue to look to the Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment and the Trades Union and Sustainable Development Advisory Committee to provide strategic advice on issues which are of major concern to business and to employees. It will support those bodies in generating leadership on sustainable development issues and their application in all aspects of business practice and in the workplace.

5.27 The Government will continue to work with the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution to identify priority areas for its advice.

Top

Key actions and commitments

• Creation of all new public bodies to include consideration of specific remit on sustainable development
• Integrated appraisal system in support of sustainable development
• Taking better account of needs of women, through the work of Women's Unit
• Further use of economic instruments for sustainable development, including new energy levy
• Reinforced public awareness campaign, Are you doing your bit?
• Improved rights to environmental information
• New Sustainable Development Commission
• Sustainable development as a key theme of new Foresight programme

Top

Indicators

Green housekeeping in Government

Women in public appointments and in senior positions

Prices of key resources (e.g. fuel, water)

Real changes in the cost of transport

Enforcement of regulations (to be developed)

Public understanding and awareness

Individual action for sustainable development

Awareness in schools (to be developed)

Expenditure on pollution abatement

Top

1. Policy Appraisal and the EnvironmentApril 1998. DETR 97EP0442
2. Policy Appraisal for Equal Treatment Guidelines- issued jointly by Home Office DFEE and Cabinet Office, November 1998.
3. Modernising Government. March 1999, Cm 4310. ISBN 0 10 143102 3.
4. Environmental Taxation - Statement of Intent. HM Treasury Press Office, 2 July 1997.
5. The Better Regulation Guide. Cabinet Office, Regulatory Impact Unit, August 1998.
6. Sustainable Development Education Panel: First Annual Report, 1998. DETR C8551. 98EP0585
7. Setting environmental standards. Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. Cm 4053, October 1998. ISBN 0 10 140532 4
8. The Act will implement provisions on environmental information in the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, signed by the United Kingdom in 1998.
9. Modern Public Services for Britain: Investing in Reform. Comprehensive Spending Review: New Public Spending Plans 1999-2002 July 1998 ISBN 0 10 1401124.
10. Information on the Foresight programme from http://www.foresight.gov.uk/, or Office of Science and Technology.
11. The Use of Scientific Advice in Policy Making. A note by the Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Robert May (1997). Office of Science and Technology, DTI Publications 3040/0.5k/10/97/RP.

Top

The Government is not responsible for the contents or reliability of the linked web sites and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. Listing should not be taken as endorsement of any kind. We cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time and we have no control over the availability of the linked pages.