A new report from the National Audit Office (NAO) finds that central government has not provided local authorities with clarity about their roles in achieving net zero by 2050, and its approach to funding their net zero work is piecemeal.

The NAO report says central government has not yet developed with local authorities any overall expectations about their roles in achieving the national net zero target

Although the Government passed legislation in June 2019 committing to achieve net zero by 2050, the NAO report says central government has not yet developed with local authorities any overall expectations about their roles in achieving the national net zero target.

Local authorities provide a range of services that have an impact on government’s commitment to achieve ‘net zero’ greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, such as transport planning, social housing and recycling and waste services.

And the vast majority of local authorities have started a range of climate work, some as a result of government schemes. The NAO finds that 91% of local authorities have adopted at least one commitment to decarbonise their activities, or their local area. More than a third (38%) of single and upper tier authorities4 have committed to decarbonise their local area by or before 2030.

But central government is yet to decide whether local authorities’ roles in meeting the national net zero target should have statutory basis.

And without a clear sense of responsibilities and priorities, the NAO warns there is a risk that local authority action on net zero is not as co-ordinated, targeted or widespread as it might need to be.

Furthermore, local authorities told the NAO that they find it hard to engage with central government on net zero, and that there is a lack of coordination between departments on their specific net zero requirements.

The report, written in request from the Environmental Audit Committee to examine local government and net zero, also says that while grant funding for local authorities’ net zero activities increased from £74m in 2019-20, to £1.2bn in 2020-215, it remains fragmented.

NAO analysis of 21 grants available to local authorities for net-zero work shows that local authorities have received very different amounts from these funds: 17 local authority areas received £20m or more each, while 37 received less than £2m each. Per person, 14 local authority areas received £50 or more, while 67 received less than £12.50.

The NAO recommends that central government carries out an analysis of the net zero funding available to local authorities to inform the next Comprehensive Spending Review, considering the cost pressures they face.

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “There are serious weaknesses in government’s approach to working with local authorities on net zero, stemming from a lack of clarity over roles and responsibilities and piecemeal funding. This hampers local authorities’ ability to plan effectively for the long term, build skills and capacity, and prioritise effort.

“Government’s efforts to improve its approach to local action on net zero have been understandably slowed by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, there is now great urgency to make progress.”

The issues were highlighted by EV charging specialist Connected Kerb in a recent interview with Fleet World.

Speaking to us last month, CEO Chris Pateman-Jones said many local authorities are struggling with the time and resources to get to grips with what’s required of them. This has been exacerbated by the extra pressures being heaped on them in the pandemic.

He explained: “We’ve been saying that if the Government are serious about this green recovery, they need to spend a lot more time helping local authorities to understand what’s going on.

“Some of them are so cash-strapped that they don’t have the time to spend in those areas. And what they’re often doing is putting people in the roles where it’s not their area of expertise and it’s sort of dumped on them. And they’re doing a great job and trying their hardest but they don’t have the expertise in that area. So you either need to get people who do or you need to help those people to make sure they’re fully up to speed.”

Polly Billington, chief executive of the Climate Group’s UK100 initiative, which represents over 100 mayors and local authority leaders committed to action on climate change, said the NAO report must be a wake-up call for ministers.

“Unless ministers empower local leaders before the UN COP26 Summit in November, the UK government will be going naked into the conference chamber,” she commented.

“Local authorities have the ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to a third: cities and councils must be front and centre of Net Zero. As the summit communique signed by 32 mayors and leaders set out this week, local leaders need new powers and resources, enshrined in a Net Zero Local Powers Bill. That includes oversight of strategic bodies to tackle energy market failure, along with the financing to decarbonise transport and tackle emissions from homes and workplaces.”

To access the NAO report, click here.