Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress she has made on implementing the findings of the Green Book Review 2025.

The Chancellor has listened to regional leaders who have said that, for too long, the Green Book has downplayed the importance of local outcomes and the potential of targeted regional investment. The Chancellor commissioned a new review of the Green Book.

The conclusions of that review were published in June, setting out a new approach to public sector appraisal that will deliver a more effective assessment of place-based interventions. This includes the introduction of place-based business cases that will galvanise departments across Whitehall and highlight the reinforcing effects of different investments within an area.

Liverpool, Plymouth, Port Talbot and Birmingham will be the first early adopters of place-based business cases. HM Treasury will also publish an updated Green Book at the start of 2026.

A cross-government taskforce has been established to develop the approach to place-based business cases and oversee their implementation. This taskforce is currently comprised of the Second Permanent Secretary of HM Treasury responsible for regional growth and devolution, the Director General for Local Government, Growth and Communities in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Director General for Public Transport and Local Group in the Department for Transport, and the CEO of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.