PN C2
12 July 2004
Promoting sustainable development
The Government’s objective of sustainable development - delivering social, economic and environmental progress together, at home and overseas - was given a further boost in the Spending Review today. The Spending Review set out plans to:
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tackle climate change and increase the resource efficiency of UK businesses while achieving further reductions in the fuel poverty facing the poorest households;
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increase access to affordable housing while protecting the countryside and improving the environmental standards met by new buildings;
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support balanced regional growth while improving the liveability of local communities and reducing poverty;
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improve public health across a broad range of indicators from achieving better air and water quality to tackling child obesity; and
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increase funding and set new objectives to promote sustainable development internationally.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Healey said:
"We will continue to show leadership on sustainable development, both at home and abroad. Through the new Regulatory Impact Assessment process, which requires that social, environmental and economic impacts of new policy proposals are properly assessed, and through the current review of our Sustainable Development Strategy, we will continue to place sustainable development at the heart of Government decision-making.”
Details
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The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has been allocated resources for further action to tackle climate change, reduce fuel poverty and improve waste management.
The Spending Review provides additional support for businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and increase their energy efficiency through:
- the recycling of £146 million of landfill tax revenues per year by 2007-08, including at least £40 million per year to expand the Carbon Trust’s programmes; and
- An extra £20 million per year is provided by 2007-08 compared to 2004-05, for rewarding Local Authority waste performance; and
- PFI credits for investment in new waste disposal facilities will be £155 million higher in 2007-08 than in 2004-05 to support investment in sustainable waste management and encourage a shift from landfill.
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The Spending Review also allocates £95 million per year by 2007-08 compared to 2004-05 of new capital grants for the Warm Front scheme to move closer to the Government’s target of eliminating fuel poverty.
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The Department for Transport (DFT) will take joint ownership with Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) and DEFRA of the Government’s Public Service Agreement (PSA) target for climate change.
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The DTI will continue existing levels of support to the development of renewable energy and will receive £60 million in each year up to 2007-08 to deliver projects identified under the Renewables Innovation Review. £20 million has also been allocated in each year towards future energy research and development, which will allow the DTI to fund fuel cells, cleaner fossil fuels, CO2 capture and storage, and hydrogen research.
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As well as improving housing affordability and delivering an extra 10,000 new units of social housing by 2007-08, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) will ensure that new housing is built to high standards in relation to energy and water efficiency, waste and building materials.
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The ODPM has also been set a new PSA target to improve the ‘liveability’ of local communities, making them cleaner, greener and safer, and improving the quality of life for their inhabitants.
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As part of a new emphasis on reducing health inequality, the Departments of Health, Education and Skills, and Culture, Media and Sport have been set a new PSA target to tackle childhood obesity.
To help promote sustainable development internationally:
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The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has been set a new central PSA Objective: “Sustainable development, underpinned by democracy, good governance and human rights” to complement its existing sustainable development target.
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The FCO’s Global Opportunity Fund for transitional economies and key developing countries, introduced in the 2002 Spending Review, which includes a focus on sustainable development, will be worth £60million in each year up to 2007-08 - an increase of 50% compared to 2002.
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As part of its overall budget increase in this Spending Review, the Department for International Development will be allocated resources to support the outcome of negotiations on the 4th replenishment of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), beginning next year. The UK is the fourth largest donor to the GEF with a contribution of £118 million over the current replenishment round over 2002 to 2006, including an additional voluntary contribution of £15 million.
Notes for editors
- Further details of the settlements for departments highlighted in this press notice can be seen in their individual departmental press notices (see annex).
- The UK Sustainable Development Strategy, A Better Quality of Life, sets out the principles underlying the Government's commitment to sustainable development and the indicators by which progress can be measured. This Strategy is currently being reviewed. Further information about the review is available at the Sustainable Development website.
- The Government's fifteen headline indicators of sustainable development, first set out in 1999, are regularly updated and monitored over time to ensure policies support a positive trend. As a result of the 2004 Spending Review, all 15 of the headline indicators are now reflected in Public Service Agreement targets spanning 10 government departments.
- Each department was required in their Spending Review submissions to account for their consideration of sustainable development, outlining how they would integrate the key social, economic and environmental impacts of their work, and these submissions were assessed by the Treasury to ensure they were reflected in Department’s settlements and PSA targets.
- For further details please contact the HM Treasury Press Office on 020 7270 5238.
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