Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Greening Finance Roadmap, published in October 2021, what assessment he has made of the case for implementing the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements before the suggested three to five year timeline; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The document ‘Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing’ sets out an indicative pathway to introducing coordinated Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) across the economy. SDR builds on the UK’s ambitious leadership on green finance and will incorporate the UK’s existing commitment to make reporting aligned with the Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) mandatory, require robust reporting against the UK Green Taxonomy, and aim to incorporate international standards as they are developed.
The implementation of legislative and regulatory measures will be subject to parliamentary review and to consultation, ensuring effective scrutiny over the requirements that are introduced. Detailed disclosure requirements will be determined by the relevant regulators and government departments following consultation, and anticipated timings are set out in the Roadmap.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the status is of the Government Social Research Publication Protocol entitled Publishing research and analysis in government; and what the consequences are in the event of a breach of that protocol.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The status of the Government Social Research Publication Protocol entitled ‘Publishing research and analysis in government’ was updated and published in December 2021. This is available on gov.uk https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-social-research-publication-protocols#full-publication-update-history
The protocol applies to government departments in England and Wales that conduct or commission social research; the Scottish Government procedures for publishing social research are compliant with this protocol. Non-departmental public bodies and agencies are not obliged to follow the protocol, although as it is a statement of good practice for the publication of social research and analysis, compliance is encouraged.
This update builds on and supersedes the GSR Publication Protocol published in 2015, and is signed off by Jenny Dibden (Head of GSR), Professor Sir Ian Diamond (National Statistician & Head of the Analysis Function) and Sir Patrick Vallance (UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser & Head of the Government Science & Engineering Profession.
There is an escalation route for breaching the guidelines in the Protocol, this can be found on page 7 in Principle 2:
Where publication is not within 12 weeks, the relevant GSR Head of Profession should be notified and the reason for delay recorded. Reason for delay could be practical or legal, for example during an election period or prior to the budget announcement. The extent to which departments publish within 12 weeks will be monitored by GSR Heads of Profession and regularly reported to the GSR Board. Where systematic issues and/or delays on individual reports are identified, these will be escalated via Department Directors of Analysis and the Analysis Function Board for further scrutiny. GSR will also work with the Office for Statistics Regulation.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements, announced in the Green Finance Roadmap, mandatory; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In October 2021, the Government published ‘Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing’, setting out details of new, economy-wide Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR). The ambition is for the new SDR to apply to companies, asset managers and asset owners, including pension schemes, and investment products. It will require reporting for the first time on climate and environmental impact, alongside the financial risks and opportunities these pose to business. This builds on our world-leading efforts in making TCFD-related disclosures mandatory in the UK.
As set out in that Roadmap, these disclosures must be mandatory to ensure that relevant firms are disclosing high-quality information, enabling investors to compare disclosures and ensuring that data is available across the economy. The Roadmap published in October outlines a pathway to introducing requirements across the economy in a coordinated and proportionate way.