Full report (pdf - 1148KB) - National Audit Office

More documents

Recommendations

Info

20 Appraisal and sustainable developmentPart TwoAppraisal guidance and sustainabledevelopmentIntroduction2.1 This Part of the briefing sets out the guidance on appraisal and explores itscentral emphasis on cost-benefit analysis, approaches to monetisation of non-financialimpacts, including environmental and sustainable development impacts, and otherways wider impacts may be taken into account.Guidance on appraisal2.2 There is both general government guidance on financial management andappraisal, in Managing Public Money and the Green Book, and guidance for theindividual aspects of the decision making landscape, on impact assessments,business cases and the One-In, One-Out rule (Figure 6). The Green Book constitutesthe authoritative source of appraisal guidance governing the valuation of socialwelfare. It is maintained by the Treasury, and has links to a variety of supplementaryguidance. The impact assessment guidance and guidance on the One-In, One-Outprocess is maintained by the Better Regulation Executive in the Department forBusiness Innovation and Skills. Guidance on business cases and on tax is maintainedby HM Treasury, and greening government commitments set out expectations inrespect of sustainable procurement.2.3 The impact assessment guidance was substantially revised in August 2011, andit now consists of two documents – the main guidance, which focuses on when to doan impact assessment and the strategic issues involved, and a toolkit which providesdetailed advice on how to do an assessment. The new impact assessment proformano longer includes ten specific impact tests to address wider impacts. 15 But therevised guidance discusses these areas and emphasises the need to consider them inappraisals, 16 and the new proforma still requires departments to disclose the impact ofeach option on carbon emissions.15The specific impact tests covered: equality, small businesses, competition, justice, health and wellbeing,human rights, rural proofing, greenhouse gas emissions, wider environmental impacts, and sustainabledevelopment.16Better Regulation Executive, Impact Assessment Guidance, August 2011
Appraisal and sustainable development 212.4 The current Green Book dates from 2003, with supplementary guidance added oramended more recently. Recent developments include new supplementaryguidanceon accountingfor environmental impacts in policy appraisal, which was developed bythe Department for Environment, Foodand Rural Affairs A (February 2012); 17revisedguidance fromthe Department of Energy and Climate Changee on the valuation ofenergy use and carbon emissions in policy appraisal (October 2011); 18 andadiscussion paper, developed by the Department for Work and Pensions, onanappraisal technique for using wellbeing measures to calculate the monetary value ofnon-market based goods and services, such as the value of volunteering ( July2011). 19Figure 6: Appraisal guidanceSource: National Audit Office171819See: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/accounting_environmental_impacts.pdfSee: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms//emissions/valuation/valuation.aspxSee: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/data_greenbook_news.htm
Page 1: BRIEFING FOR THEHOUSE OF COMMONSENV
Page 4 and 5: 4 Appraisal and sustainable develop
Page 11 and 12: Appraisal and sustainable developme
Page 19: Appraisal and sustainable developme

Full report (pdf - 1148KB) - National Audit Office

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?