Corporate report

Performance report

Published 18 November 2024

Annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024

Presented to the House of Commons pursuant to section 6(4) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000

Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 18 November 2024

HC 235

ISBN 978-1-5286-5124-0
E03146132 11/24

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Performance overview

The performance overview provides information that allows an understanding of the organisation, its purpose, its performance against delivering its objectives, and both the impact of and management of key risks.

Report of the Permanent Secretary

This report covers the department’s first full year. Whilst that has inevitably involved significant effort to create the internal structures and systems to support delivery for the public, the department has also pressed on with that delivery. Since it was established in February 2023, the department has continued to ensure Britain is energy secure, consumers are protected, that we invest in new green technologies and work towards our carbon budget and net zero goals.

As well as being a brand new department, we have also moved our London office to a newly refurbished building, 3-8 Whitehall Place, and continued to grow our presence at our offices across the country.

I am proud of what the department has achieved in its first year. The department’s agenda is complex and demanding but I am certain that we will continue to work hard to deliver the secure, clean and affordable energy our country needs.

Jeremy Pocklington
Permanent Secretary and Principal Accounting Officer

Report of the lead non‑executive director

Since joining the department in March 2024 as the lead non-executive, I have seen the scale of the challenge that the department faces in delivering our agenda tackling some of the country’s biggest challenges.

The department has progressed its complex portfolio through the introduction of the Energy Act 2023 in October, the biggest piece of energy legislation in the UK’s history.

Progress was made in 2023-24 on a number of important projects. The department also progressed its review of electricity market arrangements (REMA) with a second consultation, which sought views on options to deliver an enduring electricity market framework that will work for businesses, industry, and households.

The department strives to encourage greater energy efficiency. In addition to seeing a year‑on-year increase of 75% in the boiler upgrade scheme applications, it announced the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund to provide 8,800 homes with free efficiency upgrades, saving households £400 a year on their energy bills on average.

The department continued investing in research and development, including providing funding for UK innovators to develop AI tech to help cut emissions, accelerate renewables and boost energy efficiency to help the UK’s clean energy transition.

All this work could not have been achieved without colleagues’ commitment to ensure that the values of the department - as an inclusive, collaborative workplace that makes bold choices with colleagues that have a willingness to learn - are at the heart of everything it does.

The work our colleagues do across the department’s portfolio has a tangible real-life impact on the country. The non-executive board members and I would like to thank colleagues across the department for their continued hard work and dedication to such an instrumental agenda. I would also like to thank Peter Mather and Vikas Shah, who supported BEIS and remain dedicated non-executives for the department, for supporting the department in its early days.

Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson
Lead Non- Executive Director

Our purpose and priorities in 2023 to 2024

As set out in the Powering up Britain plan, the department’s purpose and priorities in 2023-24 were to enhance our country’s energy security, seize the economic opportunities of the energy transition, and deliver on our net zero commitments in a proportionate way that brings people along with us. We will diversify, decarbonise and domesticate energy production by investing in renewables and nuclear, to power Britain from Britain.

The priority outcomes, as set out in ‘Powering up Britain’, detailed how we would measure our success, and how we would ensure we continuously improve.

1. Energy security: setting the UK on a path to greater energy independence
2. Consumer security: bringing bills down, keeping them affordable, and making wholesale electricity prices among the cheapest in Europe
3. Climate security: supporting industry to move away from expensive and dirty fossil fuels
4. Economic security: playing our part in reducing inflation and boosting growth, delivering high skilled jobs for the future

Our business model and environment

To deliver our departmental priorities, we:

• devise and manage policies, building expertise on a broad spectrum of energy and climate topics, and advising ministers on achievement of their objectives
• deliver public services, implementing the policies ministers decide on for the benefit of citizens
• manage taxpayer funds, ensuring financial resources are allocated strategically to deliver public policy goals and to implement programmes, while adhering to auditing, reporting and compliance commitments to demonstrate value for money and proper use of public funds

The core department carries out policy development and delivery. The department works closely with, and delivers through, public bodies, suppliers, local authorities and regulators to achieve its priorities. DESNZ is also supported by Integrated Corporate Services (ICS), which provides a range of corporate and support functions to DESNZ and other departments.

We consult with a range of people and organisations, including small and large businesses, business representative organisations, unions, and research institutions. We also consult the public on critical policy decisions.

Organisational structure

The diagram below shows the groups that made up our organisational structure. The groups are headed by directors general (DGs). DG groups are formed of several directorates.

Central Functions and retained Corporate Services Directors report directly into the Permanent Secretaries. ICS is hosted within DESNZ.

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Organisational structure: diagram data

DGs:

• Energy Markets & Supply
• Net Zero Buildings & Industry
• Net Zero, Nuclear & International
• Energy Infrastructure
• Chief Scientific Adviser
• Central Functions & retained Corporate Services

Supported by Integrated Corporate Services (ICS).

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Our group

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Group is made up of the core department and its arm’s length bodies (ALBs) which are a combination of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and companies.

Departmental group

These bodies are within our accounting boundary and are consolidated into the group accounts.

See note 26 for the full list of consolidated entities. For those excluded below, they are separate legal entities, but their accountability flows from the entities listed in this section.

Non-Departmental Public Bodies:

• Civil Nuclear Police Authority
• Coal Authority
• Climate Change Committee^{[Note 1]}
• Committee on Fuel Poverty
• Committee on Radioactive Waste Management
• Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
• North Sea Transition Authority
• UK Atomic Energy Authority

Companies:

• British Nuclear Fuels Limited
• Bulb Energy Ltd
• Electricity Settlements Company Ltd
• Enrichment Holdings Ltd
• Great British Nuclear
• Low Carbon Contracts Company Ltd
• Salix Finance Limited
• Sizewell C Limited
• Sizewell C (Holding) Limited

Notes

1. Body not consolidated on materiality grounds.

Wider departmental group

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has policy responsibility for a public corporation, a non-ministerial department and a central government fund, which are not consolidated in the group accounts.

Public corporations:

• National Nuclear Laboratory Limited

Central government fund:

• Nuclear Liabilities Fund

Non-ministerial department:

• Office of Gas and Electricity Markets

Performance summary on priority outcomes

See performance on priority outcomes in the performance analysis section for more details on performance, including metrics:

Energy security: protect energy security through increasing our energy independence

• We launched the nuclear roadmap which includes plans for new power stations as big as Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C and measures such as smarter regulation which will help quadruple UK nuclear power by 2050 up to 24GW – the biggest expansion for 70 years. Launching a high-tech nuclear fuel programme with up to £300 million investment into UK production, we are pushing Russia out of the global market
• We have awarded 51 exploration licences to date through the latest Oil and Gas licensing round

Customer security: bring down bills and have among the cheapest electricity wholesale prices in Europe by 2035

• The Energy Act 2023 received Royal Assent, bringing into force legislation essential to providing a cleaner, more secure and affordable energy system
• We eliminated the pre-payment meter premium from 1 July, cutting energy bills for more than 4 million families by bringing their costs into line with those paid by comparable customers on direct debits

Climate security: transform our economy to ensure net zero emissions by 2050

• The Spring Budget announced a budget of over £1 billion for this year’s contracts for difference allocation round (AR6), which includes an allocation of £800 million to offshore wind. This makes AR6 the largest round yet for the UK government’s flagship scheme, which awards contracts to renewable power generators potentially worth billions of pounds in total over the scheme’s lifetime. The AR6 application window opened on 27 March. The contracts for difference scheme plays a key role in boosting the UK’s energy security, growing our economy and powering more of Britain from Britain. Since its introduction in 2014, the scheme has awarded contracts of around 30GW of new renewable capacity across all technologies, including around 20GW of offshore wind
• We announced Fusion R&D plans for an ambitious and cutting-edge suite of new R&D programmes to support the UK’s flourishing fusion sector and strengthen international collaboration
• We have announced that 12 green AI initiatives will receive a share of £1 million, to decarbonise and boost generation of renewable energy. The schemes range from use of AI to improve forecasts of optimal times for solar energy generation, to the decarbonisation of dairy farming through the use of AI robots monitoring crop and soil health. This forms part of the UK government’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio

Economic security: seize the opportunities of our green energy future to create new energy industries, new jobs and increasing exports.

• We announced an additional c. £120m capital expenditure (CDEL) funding to the Green Industries Growth Accelerator (GIGA), on top of the £960m already allocated
• At COP 28 the UK joined the ‘UAE Consensus’ on the Global Stocktake, the first time ever that countries agreed to the transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems – delivering on promises to keep the 1.5 degree temperature target within reach and building on the agreement to phase down coal secured under the UK’s COP26 Presidency. We also announced £1.6bn UK funding for new climate projects, as well as up to £60m for Loss and Damage
• We announced an alliance and programme of work between the UK, Canada, US, France and Japan with the aim of displacing Russia from the international nuclear energy market and undermining their grip on supply chains

Principal risks

The department manages longer-term strategic risks and threats, either related to our core departmental commitments such as meeting the carbon budgets and maintaining energy security, and other more functional risks around information security, staffing and policy design. The key risks faced by the department are summarised below. For further details on our risks, see risk profile in the performance analysis.

1. Catastrophic or severe incident affecting energy or nuclear critical national infrastructure
2. Failure to meet our legally binding net zero commitments and interim climate targets (carbon budgets)
3. Disruption to supplies of gas/electricity/fuel to meet near-term demand
4. Underlying energy supplies (gas/electricity/fuel) and/or the resilience of the energy system are disrupted or undermined due to a disorderly energy transition
5. A risk of reduced or delayed private sector investment needed to achieve UK energy and net zero transition objectives
6. Sensitive information is compromised or lost through cyber-attack (such as ransomware attack), eavesdropping, theft, mistakes, or leaks
7. Departmental morale, engagement and wellbeing
8. Unaffordable energy bills - gas price rises
9. Potential of insufficient funding creates a risk that financial constraints could limit our ability to deliver our objectives and ambitions
10. Failure of the UK to provide leadership and active international engagement
11. Public Sector Equality Duty - systematic non-compliance
12. Structural gaps in the current and future workforce

Where we spent our money

Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) is the controllable budget issued by HM Treasury on behalf of Parliament to deliver our strategic objectives. It excludes Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) which represents volatile, demand-led spend and technical accounting matters. These categories are explained in the financial review section of the annual report and accounts.

In 2023-24, total DEL spend for the departmental group is shown in the diagram below. Major areas of spend are also shown by estimate line for the core department, and by entity for arm’s length bodies.

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Where we spent our money in 2023-24: diagram data

Major areas of spend	Group	Value (£m)
NDA	ALBs	£3,003m
Sizewell C	ALBs	£1,103m
Delivering affordable energy	Core	£845m
Taking action on climate change	Core	£755m
Capability	Core	£516m
Ensuring our energy system is reliable	Core	(£516m)
UKAEA	ALBs	£288m
Managing our energy legacy	Core	£182m
Great British Nuclear	ALBs	£181m
Coal Authority	ALBs	£67m
Science and Research	Core	£32m
Salix	ALBs	£27m
Other ALBs	ALBs	£22m
Total		£6,504m

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Performance analysis

Structure of the performance analysis

The performance analysis provides a detailed narrative of our performance and includes the following sections:

• our performance (against strategic priorities)
• risks affecting delivery of our priorities
• financial review
• sustainability report
• performance in other areas

The financial review analyses the department’s expenditure and financial position for the year.

Performance on priority outcomes

Energy security: setting the UK on a path to greater energy independence

The UK government had a clear set of strategic objectives to enable the transformation of the energy system, so it is secure, low-cost and low carbon. This helped deliver greater energy independence. This meant reducing and managing energy demand, and increasing the overall share of domestic energy production, with particular focus on the smooth transition to abundant, low-carbon energy. This also released huge opportunities.

Aims obtained during 2023-24 included:

• Doubling Britain’s electricity generation capacity by the late 2030s and delivering a fully decarbonised electricity system, subject to security of supply, by 2035
• Reducing energy demand and increasing the overall share of domestic energy production, building on our ambitions set out in the Net Zero Strategy, British Energy Security Strategy and Powering Up Britain Energy Security Plan
• Ensuring that where the UK still needs to import energy, including through interconnectors, that those imports are built on diversified sources of supply and relationships with strong and trusted international partners and allies. Also, to provide access to long‑term export markets to support our growing clean energy industries
• Building in resilience and mitigations to ensure that if there are disruptions to imports, consumers still have a reliable supply of energy
• Enabling a faster roll out of new energy infrastructure through reforms to the planning system and other regulatory enablers. Also, ensuring our market arrangements are fit for the future through REMA, to help unlock massive investment in a cost-effective and secure energy system

Our performance metrics

• Loss of Load Expectation
• Net Import Dependency (Quarterly and Annual)

Loss of Load Expectation

Time Period	Loss of Load Expectation (LOLE)
2023-24	0.1 hours/year

Source:

• Electricity System Operator Winter Outlook Report 2023-24
• LOLE represents the number of hours per annum in which, over the long-term, it is statistically expected that supply will not meet demand and the Electricity System Operator (ESO) will need to take emergency action, such as reducing voltage or implementing some demand disconnections
• Release schedule: Annual

Net Import Dependency (Quarterly and Annual)

Time Period	Net Import Dependency (Quarterly)
Quarter 1 2021	34.7%
Quarter 2 2021	43.3%
Quarter 3 2021	33.1%
Quarter 4 2021	40.5%
Quarter 1 2022	38.7%
Quarter 2 2022	34.4%
Quarter 3 2022	36.3%
Quarter 4 2022	39.4%
Quarter 1 2023	43.5%
Quarter 2 2023	37.1%
Quarter 3 2023	37.8%
Quarter 4 2023 [provisional]	44.5%

Release schedule: Quarterly – For Reporting Purposes.

Time Period	Net Import Dependency (Annual)
2021	37.9%
2022	37.3%
2023 [provisional]	41.1%

Release schedule: Annual – For Reporting Purposes.

Source:

• Energy Trends: UK total energy, Supply and use of fuels, Table 1.3a
• Energy Trends: UK total energy
• Net import dependency is the proportion of the UK’s total fuel demand (including fuel for marine bunkers) that is met by net imports (the sum of imports minus exports)

Consumer security: bringing bills down, keeping them affordable, and making wholesale electricity prices among the cheapest in Europe

The UK government committed to bringing bills down in the long-term and keeping them affordable.

The energy retail market is the main interface between consumers and the energy system. The UK government took forward a programme of reform so that the market works better for consumers and acts as a driver for the transition to a secure, low-cost and low-carbon energy system. Their vision for the energy retail market is one that is focused on 3 key themes:

• Better for consumers: ensuring that energy bills remain fair, and we can work towards abundant cheap energy. Energy must be affordable for consumers, while we need to uphold and improve consumer standards
• More resilient and investable: better prepared for future wholesale price volatility and better able to shield consumers from the costs of supplier failure, combined with a return to competition and profitability for well-run suppliers that offer value for consumers
• Supports wider energy system transformation: unlock greater innovation within the retail market by tackling regulatory barriers, alongside the delivery of wider system changes such as the smart meter rollout and market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement, as well as setting out an approach in the coming year to rebalance costs between electricity and gas bills to support take-up of low carbon technologies. The second REMA consultation published in March 2024 set out a direction of travel for how the GB electricity market arrangements will need to evolve in the future

Our performance metrics

• Fuel poor households in England (LILEE).
• Households required to spend more than 10% of after housing costs (AHC) income on energy
• UK domestic retail electricity price relative to EU 14 plus UK Median (%)

Fuel poor households in England (LILEE) and Households required to spend more than 10% of AHC income on energy:

Year	Fuel poor households in England (LILEE)	Households required to spend more than 10% of AHC income on energy
2018	3.52m (15.0%)	4.04m (17.2%)
2019	3.18m (13.4%)	4.11m (17.4%)
2020	3.16m (13.2%)	4.30m (18.0%)
2021	3.16m (13.1%)	4.93m (20.5%)
2022	3.18m (13.1%)	6.66m (27.4%)
2023	3.17m (13.0%)	8.91m (36.4%)

Source:

• Fuel poverty annual statistics (15 February 2024)
• Fuel Poverty in England is measured using the Low-Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) indicator. A household is fuel poor if it has a disposable income after housing costs and required fuel costs below the poverty line and lives in a home that has an energy efficiency rating below Band C
• While not the official measure of fuel poverty in England, an additional affordability metric has been published by DESNZ for England showing the number of households required to spend more than 10 per cent of their income after housing costs on household energy
• Release schedule: Annual

UK domestic retail electricity price relative to EU 14 plus UK Median (%):

Year	UK domestic retail electricity price relative to EU 14 plus UK Median (%)
January‑June 2018	-4.0
July‑December 2018	-1.2
January‑June 2019	0.0
July‑December 2019	+1.3
January‑June 2020	+3.9
July‑December 2020	-2.2
January‑June 2021	+0.1
July‑December 2021	+0.2
January‑ June 2022	+42.4
July‑December 2022	+71.4
January‑June 2023	+61.9

Source:

• International domestic energy prices (30 November 2023), Domestic electricity prices in the EU for small, medium and large consumers (QEP 5.6.1, 5.6.2 and 5.6.3) [rounded to 1 decimal place]
• UK domestic retail electricity price as % higher (+) or lower (-) than the EU median average. Data is collected from a sample of UK energy companies and on the same basis as Eurostat for comparability. This series is currently published bi-annually as part of the wider Quarterly Energy Prices collection of statistics. The specific price used for comparing against the ‘EU 14 + UK’ median average price will be the price for a ‘medium’ consumer (annual consumption of 2,500 – 4,999 kWh a year) including taxes
• Release schedule: Bi-annual

Note:

• These figures are heavily impacted by the way that different countries supported consumers through the energy crisis. Some countries focused on reducing prices compared to the UK, which provided support through a mix of reducing prices and providing lump sum payments such as EBSS

Climate security: supporting industry to move away from expensive and dirty fossil fuels

The UK has made huge progress in decarbonising its economy and decoupling emissions from economic growth. Thanks to the Climate Change Act (2008) and Environment Act (2021), we have a strong legal framework for reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Between 1990 and 2022, we have cut our emissions by 50%, becoming the first major economy to halve its emissions, whilst growing the economy by around 80%.

We remain committed to ambitious climate targets, to meet net zero in 2050. The Third National Adaptation Programme, which was published in July 2023, sets out the actions we are taking across government to increase our resilience to climate change.

The UK has demonstrated that green and growth go hand in hand. We have delivered the second highest amount of recorded low-carbon investment cumulatively across Europe over the last 5 years and estimate that since 2010, the UK has seen £300 billion of public and private investment into low carbon sectors.

Our work in this outcome encompasses:

• Nuclear Power
• Green Innovation
• International Climate Change
• Power generation
• Industrial Decarbonisation
• Fuel Supply and Hydrogen
• Net Zero Buildings
• Natural Resources, waste and F-gases
• Greenhouse gas removals
• Cross cutting enablers, including market arrangements

The Net Zero Strategy set out an indicative ‘delivery pathway’ of emissions reductions to meet our climate targets up to Carbon Budget 6 (2033-37) and stay on track for net zero by 2050. This draws on insights from modelled 2050 net zero scenarios, exploring the range of potential energy and technology solutions, and is designed to drive progress while preserving options and allowing room for change, recognising the level of uncertainty in long-term plans of this kind.

Our performance metrics

• Total UK greenhouse gas emissions (million tonnes CO2 equivalent)
• UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions by sector, 2023, mtCO2e (% of total territorial emissions)
• Low carbon share of electricity generation (%)
• Forecast total greenhouse gas emissions savings from Energy and Emissions Projection (EEP)-Ready Policies

Total UK greenhouse gas emissions (million tonnes CO2 equivalent):

Time period	Total UK greenhouse emissions (million tonnes CO2 equivalent)
2023 (difference vs 2022) [provisional]	384.2 (-5.4%)
2022 (difference vs 2021)	406.2 (-3.5%)

Sources:

• 2022 Figures - DESNZ Final UK greenhouse gas emissions national statistics: 1990 to 2022, Table 1.1
• 2023 Figures – DESNZ provisional UK greenhouse gas emissions national statistics 2023, Table 1a_GHG

UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions by sector, 2023, MtCO2e (absolute change since 2021 in MtCO2e), % of total territorial emissions:

Sector	UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions by TES sector, 2022, MtCO2e (change since 2021)	UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions by TES sector, 2023 [provisional], MtCO2e (change since 2022) [Provisional]	Share of total territorial emissions by TES sector, 2023 [provisional] (2022 final value)
Electricity supply	54.9 (+0.3)	44.1 (-10.8)	11.5% (13.5%)
Fuel supply	30.8 (-0.2)	31.1 (+0.3)	8.1% (7.6%)
Domestic transport	113.2 (+1.8)	111.6 (-1.6)	29.1% (27.9%)
Buildings and product uses	82.8 (-12.6)	77.6 (-5.2)	20.2% (20.4%)
Industry	57.4 (-2.9)	52.8 (-4.6)	13.7% (14.1%)
Agriculture	47.7 (-1.1)	47.8 (+0.1)	12.4% (11.7%)
Waste	18.8 (+0.0)	18.3 (-0.5)	4.8 %(4.6%)
Land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF)	0.8 (+0.3)	0.8 (+0.0)	0.21% (0.19%)

Notes:

• Emissions are provided for Territorial Emissions Statistics (TES) sectors. The TES sectors have been introduced this year to replace the National Communication (NC) sectors that were used in previous publications
• The majority of the provisional emissions estimates are based on provisional energy use data published in DESNZ Energy Trends on the same day that the provisional GHG emissions estimates are published. To produce the estimates, it is assumed that the percentage change in CO2 emissions between the latest 2 years is the same as the change in energy use for a particular activity and fuel between the latest 2 years
• For the agriculture, waste, and land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sectors, provisional estimates are not derived based on energy statistics. Therefore, estimates in these sectors are largely assumed to have changed in line with latest trend in projections between 2022 and 2023

Sources:

• 2022 Figures - DESNZ Final UK greenhouse gas emissions national statistics: 1990 to 2022, Table 1.2
• 2023 Figures – DESNZ provisional UK greenhouse gas emissions national statistics 2023, Table 1a_GHG

Low carbon share of electricity generation (%):

Time period	Low carbon share of electricity generation (%)
2023 [provisional]	61.5%
2022	56.7%
2021	54.4%
2020	58.6%

Source:

• DESNZ Energy Trends Table 5.1, December 2023

Forecast total greenhouse gas emissions savings from EEP-ready Policies (excluding power sector interventions):

Time period	Total projected greenhouse emissions savings from HMG policies (excluding power sector interventions), MtCO2e (annual average)
Carbon budget 4 (period 2023-27)	293.7 (58.7)
Carbon budget 5 (period 2028-32)	355.4 (71.1)
Carbon budget 6 (period 2033-37)	413.6 (82.7)

Source:

• Annex D, from DESNZ Energy and emissions projections 2022 to 2040
• Release schedule: EEP – annually in October

Economic security: playing our part in reducing inflation and boosting growth, delivering high skilled jobs for the future

Our work under this outcome centres on:

• mobilising and creating opportunities for green investment
• supporting households and businesses with exceptional energy costs
• promoting green technologies including fostering innovation
• creating high-skilled jobs and building the skills required for them

Promoting energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewable energy in the UK’s energy mix is critical to this. By supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy, we are working towards creating a cleaner, healthier, and more prosperous future for everyone in the UK.

Our performance metrics

• Total low carbon and renewable energy economy (LCREE) jobs (ONS)

Total low carbon and renewable energy economy jobs:

Time period	Direct employment in low carbon and renewable energy economy (LCREE) in the UK and constituent countries
2022 (difference vs 2020)	272,400 full-time equivalents (FTEs) (8% increase from 2021)
2021 (difference vs 2020)	252,300 (FTEs) 2021 (17% increase from 2020)

Source:

• ONS Publication of the LCREE Survey
• Release schedule: annual with an approximately 15-month lag
• ONS Low carbon and renewable energy economy, UK: 2022

Risk profile

The department has a highly challenging agenda, including several first of a kind projects. Delivery of these is inherently risky and programme risks are managed by the relevant programme.

Detail of the risks managed by the Executive Committee through the Departmental Strategic Risk Register, as well as their mitigations, are set out below. Further information on how the Executive Committee managed these risks is included in the governance report.

Risks

Catastrophic or severe incident affecting energy or nuclear critical national infrastructure

• We work with industry and regulators (such as the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and Ofgem) to ensure safety and security standards are maintained, including strengthened regulatory frameworks
• We continue to ensure robust and proportional safety and security (physical, personnel and cyber) arrangements are in place at critical energy and civil nuclear sites
• We ensure continued capability development within DESNZ and our partners, engaging regularly with industry to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities and risks
• We run regular exercises to test the UK’s response plans to any such incidents, seeking to ensure minimal impact should the risk arise

Failure to meet our legally binding net zero commitments and interim climate targets (carbon budgets) due to insufficient or ineffective policy framework and/or difficulties of deciding on and implementing more challenging reforms

• We continue to monitor and develop robust implementation plans to maintain our ambition in policy options for Carbon Budgets 4, 5 and 6 (2023-37)
• We have developed and implemented further policies to deliver emission reductions in line with the Net Zero Strategy, and committed additional funding in areas including energy, industry, transport, and buildings
• We continue to work on long-term plans for key enablers including green finance and investment to encourage the transition to global net zero economies. Key activities were the April publication of the 2023 Green Finance Strategy (GFS) and, in December 2023, publication of the terms of reference for the Transition Finance Market Review, to look at how transition financial services can best support the aims of the GFS

Disruption to supplies of gas/electricity/fuel to meet near-term demand

• We work with the Electricity Systems Operator (ESO), Gas Systems Operator (GSO)and Office for Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) to present key energy market supply and storage assessments and insights in an Energy Security Dashboard, distributed weekly during the winter months. This dashboard is the regular representation of intelligence gained through ongoing monitoring of UK and international forecasts of supply and demand
• In response to these forecasts DESNZ, the ESO and GSO look at responses both in terms of maintenance of supply and storage and UK demand reduction

Underlying energy supplies (gas/electricity/fuel) and/or the resilience of the energy system are disrupted or undermined due to a disorderly energy transition

• We continue to manage this risk through the Energy Security Board, which is responsible for the department’s strategy to ensure the security of energy supplies, including gas, electricity, and fuels
• We have completed a landscape review to pinpoint the key risks and challenges to future energy security, and the results will guide our subsequent mitigation efforts
• We are addressing this through our principal work programmes, which include the Future of Gas programme, various technology programmes such as the Future Electricity Security programme, Future Energy Resilience, and Supply Chains

Net Zero private investment

• We continue to take action to mobilise private investment into net zero
• We established a new ‘investor engagement’ team to deliver a more coordinated approach to investor engagement in DESNZ. This is helping us to better understand the challenges investors face in UK markets and is being used to inform future policy design

Sensitive information is compromised or lost through cyber-attack (such as ransomware attack), eavesdropping, theft, mistakes, or leaks

• We continue to develop our security capability across the personnel, physical, cyber, cultural and resilience threads to counter the expanding threats to our people and information
• We maintain strong, tested cyber defences and are investing against emerging threats
• We recognise that our people are equally important and are enhancing security awareness across the department through training and test phishing exercises
• We are working across government to realise the benefits from the maturing security function and to bring best practice into DESNZ

Departmental morale, engagement and wellbeing

• We encourage SCS to lead by example through role-modelling best practice with regards to attitude to work/life balance and support for personal wellbeing
• We provide a range of professional wellbeing resources, including the department’s extensive network of mental health first aiders, and access to wider Civil Service resources such as external advisers for health or financial matters
• We ensure that advice and information on how to access these services is available to all staff and is regularly promoted

Unaffordable energy bills - gas price rises

• We have managed a range of domestic and industrial energy consumer support mechanisms across the last 2 winters, 2022-23 and 2023-24, including targeted support for the most vulnerable
• We and the energy regulators constantly review the energy market to assess likely future prices and to consider any further action that may need to be taken to protect consumers
• Consideration of longer-term reform of the energy markets with consultations through REMA and other mechanisms into how we can transition the UK energy market to a low cost, low carbon basis

As a result of insufficient funding, there is a risk that financial constraints could limit our ability to deliver our objectives and ambitions

• We manage our in-year position and review forecasts for value and volatility each month
• Quarterly deep dives are held into specific budgets to identify risks and levers to manage overspends and underspends and consider commitments, volatility or other data as needed
• We regularly engage with HMT to discuss our financial position and policy funding, and to identify and address any emerging issues

Failure of the UK to provide leadership and active international engagement, drawing on our strong climate credentials and domestic expertise, in the global fight to tackle climate change in line with the Paris Agreement

• We continue to promote international action on climate change, including sharing our own expertise on low carbon growth
• This included a UK presence at COP28 with:
  • strong attendance from ministers and HRH
  • the UK pavilion, packed with events, which re-enforced our position as a global leader for climate action
  • our negotiations team, working with our allies and partners, to secure agreements across a range of objectives

Public Sector Equality Duty systematic non-compliance

• We are working with the Government Equalities Office to continually improve how we incorporate equality considerations into our policy development and delivery
• The ‘Case for Change’ exercise identified equality objectives across DESNZ policy and corporate services areas
• Analysis of Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) compliance has been improved and reporting to key governance bodies such as the Executive Committee has been strengthened
• Additional analysis of how PSED can be associated to the roles of the recognised government professions, to embed the relevance of PSED in each profession, is being undertaken

Our current and future workforce has structural gaps

• Following the machinery of government changes we have developed and are implementing our Target Operating Model, to strengthen the department’s capability
• This has included approval of the department’s Strategic Workforce Plan, actions and KPIs which will be monitored through ongoing tracking of our people plans

Financial review

Financial performance

Budget framework

Departmental budgets are split into departmental expenditure limits (DEL) and annually managed expenditure (AME) categories:

• DEL: spending that is subject to limits, which departments may not exceed
• AME: departments need to monitor AME closely and inform Treasury if they expect AME spending to rise above forecast

Budgets are also split into resource and capital categories:

• Resource: captures current expenditure and is further split into programme and administration budgets. Programme budgets are for front line services. Administration budgets capture any expenditure not included in the programme budget
• Capital: captures new investment and financial transactions The budgeting system is not based on cash accounting, but accruals accounting. TME is made up of DEL and AME, plus accounting adjustments.

Outturn for 2023 to 2024

The diagram below shows the departmental outturn for 2023 to 2024.

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Outturn for 2023-24: diagram data

TME - total managed expenditure: (£7,103m)

DEL: £6,504m
Resource DEL: £1,376m
Capital DEL: £5,127m

AME: (£13,607m)
Resource AME: (£13,547m)
Capital AME: (£60m)

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Outturn compared to budget

This table ties directly to the SOPS, where the TME outturn is the ‘total voted and non-voted’ outturn. The DEL expenditure is analysed in ‘where we spent our money’.

2023-2024

DEL	Outturn £m	Budget £m	Variance £m	Variance %
Total DEL	6,504	7,658	(1,154)	(15.1%)
Resource DEL	1,376	1,748	(372)	(21.3%)
Capital DEL	5,127	5,910	(782)	(13.2%)

AME	Outturn £m	Budget £m	Variance £m	Variance %
Total AME	(13,607)	328	(13,935)	(4,248.5%)
Resource AME	(13,547)	352	(13,899)	(3,948.6%)
Capital AME	(60)	(24)	(36)	(146.5%)

TME	Outturn £m	Budget £m	Variance £m	Variance %
Total	(7,103)	7,986	(15,089)	(188.9%)

Variance analysis

Resource DEL:

The underspend of £0.4 billion (21.3%) was primarily due to:

• £0.2 billion underspend against the budget for the Energy Special Administration Regime
• £0.1 billion underspend against the budget for energy bills support schemes

Capital DEL:

The underspend of £0.8 billion (13.2%) was primarily due to:

• £0.3 billion underspend against the budget for the Energy Special Administration Regime
• £0.1 billion underspend for Great British Nuclear
• £0.1 billion underspend against the budget for Sizewell C
• £0.1 billion underspend against the budget for Net Zero Buildings and Heat

Resource AME:

The underspend of £13.9 billion (3,948.6%) was primarily due to:

• an underspend against the budget for the energy price support schemes of £0.9 billion grants and subsidies and £0.3 billion noncash provisions
• £1.0 billion underspend against the budget for UKAEA provisions
• £0.4 billion underspend against the budget for the Energy Special Administration Regime
• £1.2 billion underspend against the budget for Coal Authority provisions
• uncertainties at the time of budgeting for the CfD valuation resulting in an underspend of £3.6 billion in Resource AME
• uncertainties at the time of budgeting for the nuclear decommissioning provision of £6.6 billion in Resource AME. This is due to the supplementary estimate process, and the requirement to include all expected movements in the budget at that point. Some items do not materialise by year end, which results in an underspend

Capital AME:

The underspend against the net budget of £(24) million was £(36) million (146.5%).

Outturn trend

DEL	2023-24 £m	2022-23 £m	2021-22 £m	2020-21 £m	2019-20 £m
Resource DEL	1,376	13,228	2,483	1,395	1,221
Capital DEL	5,127	6,200	10,712	8,995	2,379

AME	2023-24 £m	2022-23 £m	2021-22 £m	2020-21 £m	2019-20 £m
Resource AME	(13,547)	(95,616)	114,878	2,164	8,483
Capital AME	(60)	(144)	(122)	(117)	(118)

Outturn trend – biggest areas of net expenditure

The table below shows the department’s biggest areas of net expenditure taken from the SOPS.

	2023-24 £m	2022-23 £m	2021-22 £m	2020-21 £m	2019-20 £m
NDA	(15,369)	(107,667)	103,362	3,473	6,751
CfDs	4,009	(13,507)	10,286	468	3,543
Coal Authority	(521)	(3,328)	3,168	274	58
RHI	1,218	1,002	920	848	846
ICF	366	231	432	582	340
Nuclear Liabilities fund	0	0	5,610	5,070	0
Sizewell C	1,179	841	0	0	0
Energy SAR	(930)	1,157	2,136	0	0
Energy price support	897	43,531	0	0	0
UKAEA	280	267	239	155	120
Net Zero buildings and heat	739	523	1,259	1,250	0
Great British Nuclear	181	0	0	0	0
Other	848	617	539	315	307
Total	(7,103)	(76,333)	127,951	12,435	11,965

Reconciliation of budgets to financial statements

DESNZ’s financial statements are based on international financial reporting standards (IFRS). IFRS is the basis generally applied by private sector businesses. A reconciliation between the SOPS and IFRS is shown in SOPS 2 on page 113.

Expenditure on Official Development Assistance

The UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) refers to the overseas aid budget. ODA expenditure is reported for the calendar year and on a cash basis.

In 2023 there was a machinery of government change, resulting in the establishment of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). The previously reported ODA expenditures by BEIS, including Research and Innovation spending (R&I) and International Climate Finance (ICF), are now allocated separately to the 2 new departments. DESNZ’s ODA budget pertains to ICF expenditures.

DESNZ’s ODA expenditure (provisional) in 2023-24 was £440 million. This expenditure supports climate and energy projects designed to help countries tackle climate change impacts. The table below shows a breakdown by sector.

The ICF spend focuses on climate mitigation particularly in countries where emissions are growing rapidly. It aims to accelerate clean energy transition, raise climate ambition, enable low-carbon growth and address deforestation.

DESNZ ODA spend by sector^{[footnote 1]}

Sector	Sector code	2024 ICF £m	2023 Total £m
Transport & storage	210	0	4
Energy policy	231	(13.8)	10.5
Energy generation, renewable sources	232	127.8	20.3
Banking & financial services	240	3.9	2.7
Business & other services	250	0.7	0.6
Forestry	312	237.3	50.3
General environment protection	410	11.6	33.9
Other multisector	430	52.4	10.6
Administrative costs of donors	910	7.3	8.1
Unallocated / unspecified	998	13	172.4
Total	440.2	313.4

Financial position

Assets and liabilities

The table below shows the value of assets and liabilities for the departmental group.

As at 31 March 2024, the department remains in a net liability position. Net liabilities have decreased from (£214.8 billion) at 31 March 2023 to (£194.4 billion) at 31 March 2024. The biggest effect on the change in the financial position this year comes from the changes in discount rates for provisions and contracts for difference (CfDs). Further details on provisions and CfDs can be found in notes 18 and 9.

	31-Mar-24 £m	31-Mar-23 £m	31-Mar-22 £m
Assets	16,385	16,867	10,517
Liabilities	(210,784)	(231,624)	(351,513)
Net assets/(liabilities)	(194,399)	(214,757)	(340,996)

Changes in discount rates:
Discount rates heavily impact the value reported for some liabilities. Liabilities that involve payments over many years must be discounted to their value in today’s money or present value and summed into a single figure. This is an accounting adjustment. The department has liabilities that extend over decades. This means that a small change in the discount rate can greatly affect the present value of the liability. Assets and liabilities were discounted at positive rates - this means that the present value is lower than the cash the department expects to receive or pay. The accounts use several discount rates depending on the nature of the transaction and timing of the cash flows. Further details on discount rates applied to provisions and CfDs can be found in notes 18 and 9.

The table below shows the impact of discounting on our assets and liabilities.

Assets	2023-24 No discounting £m	2023-24 With discounting £m	2023-24 Impact of discounting £m	2022-23 No discounting £m	2022-23 With discounting £m	2022-23 Impact of discounting £m
Financial asset: Bulb	2,933	2,838	(95)	2,659	2,406	(253)
Financial asset: Coal pension receivable	346	323	(23)	488	452	(36)

Liabilities	2023-24 No discounting £m	2023-24 With discounting £m	2023-24 Impact of discounting £m	2022-23 No discounting £m	2022-23 With discounting £m	2022-23 Impact of discounting £m
NDA nuclear provision	198,898	105,256	(93,642)	172,800	124,371	(48,429)
Coal Authority provision	10,915	1,609	(9,306)	10,205	2,211	(7,994)
CfD liabilities (presented separately as assets and liabilities on SoFP)	90,719	89,151	(1,568)	86,051	84,142	(1,546)

Sustainability report

About the greening government commitments

Greening government commitments

The greening government commitments (GGC) are a framework for government departments to reduce their environmental impact. GGC data is reported for a departmental family, which includes the core department and in scope arm’s length bodies (ALBs), as determined by DEFRA. There are currently 5 DESNZ ALBs in scope for GGC reporting. These are:

• Coal Authority
• Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
• National Nuclear Laboratory
• North Sea Transition Authority
• Ofgem

The current GGC framework is for 2021-25, with targets to be achieved by March 2025, in comparison to a baseline year of 2017-18. Where data for the baseline year 2017-18 has not been available for an organisation, the next available year’s data or a suitable estimation has been used. After DESNZ was formed via a machinery of government change in 2023; as a new department it assumed a proportion of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) baseline data in accordance with headcount and several ALBs transferring from BEIS to DESNZ.

The core department and a portion of ALBs occupy the Government Property Agency (GPA) estate, and therefore rely on GPA to implement a large proportion of building related sustainability interventions and improvements across the estate to contribute towards achieving DESNZ GGC targets.

GHG emissions

Scope 1 - sources owned or controlled:

Unit	Measure	Notes	2023‑24	2017‑18
Tonnes CO2e	Emissions	-	624	804
kWh	Related gas consumption	1	3,627,586	3,828,913

Scope 2 - emissions from domestic flights:

Unit	Measure	Notes	2023‑24	2017‑18
Tonnes CO2e	Emissions	-	9,651	13,977
kWh	Related energy consumption	-	37,792,963	44,597,200

Scope 3 - official business travel:

Unit	Measure	Notes	2023‑24	2017‑18
Tonnes CO2e	Emissions - international business travel	-	2,108	566
Tonnes CO2e	Emissions - domestic business travel (flights, rail, bus/coach, taxi, private vehicle)	-	2,044	2,931

Expenditure on scope 1, 2 and 3

Unit	Measure	Notes	2023‑24	2017‑18
£’000	Expenditure on the purchase of energy	2	16,126	6,226
£’000	Expenditure on official business travel	3	6,893	6,188

Waste minimisation and management

Unit	Measure	Notes	2023‑24	2017‑18
Tonnes	Total waste arising	-	253	573
Tonnes	Total waste recycled	-	132	364
kg	Total ICT waste recycled, reused and recovered (externally)	-	26,232	-
Tonnes	Total waste composted/ food waste from 2022	-	9	-
Tonnes	Total waste incinerated with energy recovery	-	66	117
Tonnes	Total waste to landfill	-	29	91

Expenditure^{[Note 4]}

Unit	Measure	Notes	2023‑24	2017‑18
£’000	Total waste arising	-	50	54

Consumer single use plastics

Unit	Measure	Notes	2023‑24	2017‑18
-	Number of items	-	42,692	-
-	Paper use	-	-	-
-	Quantity of paper purchased in A4 reams equivalent	5	5,783	13,268

Finite resource consumption

Unit	Measure	Notes	2023‑24	2017‑18
m3	Water consumption in cubic meters	-	22,708	33,588
£’000	Water supply and sewage costs	6	144	55

Notes:

1. This also includes self-generated energy
2. In 2023-24 NSTA estimated gas expenditure and were unable to provide electricity expenditure. DESNZ core estimated from former BEIS for 2017-18.
3. Expenditure estimates for DESNZ core based on former BEIS. 2017-18 NSTA not included in expenditure.
4. 2023-24 expenditure does not include DESNZ core and Ofgem as GPA unable to provide data. NSTA is estimated.
   
   Breakdown of expenditure across multiple waste streams is not available from any organisation.
   
   
5. Paper data for 2017-18 excludes Ofgem
6. 2023-24 expenditure for NSTA is estimated. 2017-18 NSTA expenditure not available.

Summary of progress

Emissions:

	2023‑24 outcomes	GGC targets by March 2025
Overall emissions	26% reduction	Target TBC
Direct emissions (scope 1)	15% reduction	Target TBC
ULEV (ultra-low emission vehicle: less than 50g CO2 per km)	67% of fleet	25% of fleet by 31 Dec 2022
Domestic flights	33% reduction	reduce emissions by 30%

Waste minimisation and management:

	2023‑24 outcomes	GGC targets by March 2025
Overall waste	59% reduction	15% reduction
Landfill	12% of overall waste	reduce to less than 5% of overall waste
Recycling	60% of overall waste	increase to 70% of overall waste

Finite resource consumption:

	2023‑24 outcomes	GGC targets by March 2025
Paper use	56% reduction	reduce by 50%
Water usage	32% reduction	reduce by 8%

Note:

• Emissions targets are not currently available, as previous targets were bespoke to BEIS

GHG emissions

As DESNZ is onboarded to the GPA, the core department occupies GPA premises across the UK so is in many ways reliant on GPA’s sustainability progress to meet its GGC targets (especially outside of London where the department is generally one of many tenants in large GPA hub buildings). GPA run a net zero programme to reduce carbon emissions and energy usage across its estate.

As such, DESNZ has continued to make significant progress in reducing overall and direct buildings emissions. In the past year DESNZ core department has improved estate sustainability through relocating to smaller and more sustainable offices at 3-8 Whitehall Place & 55 Whitehall. This aligns with the government property strategy 2022-30 aim of moving to a smaller, better, and greener estate, and has had a positive impact on reducing overall and direct buildings emissions.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets are set individually for each department as part of the GGC framework. As a newly formed department, targets are still being developed for DESNZ.

Travel

DESNZ is exceeding its target for emissions from domestic flights, with a significant reduction since the baseline year. International flights however have increased, partially due to improved data availability since the baseline year. Flight data was not wholly available for 2017-18, therefore 2018-19 has been used as the baseline year as per guidance above. The total distance travelled by domestic air travel was 1,651,702km, and international air travel was 11,743,511km.

DESNZ core department has developed and implemented a sustainable business travel policy which directs colleagues to only travel when necessary for business, and to travel by train rather than plane for domestic journeys, except in exceptional circumstances, with the aim of reducing both domestic and international flights.

Waste

The department made significant progress against the GGC waste targets, exceeding overall waste reduction. Recycling rates are not yet reaching the target of 70%, and waste to landfill rates have not yet reached the target of 5%. There are plans in place to improve this ahead of the framework target deadline through the development of a core department waste plan, which will include support for colleagues to find ways to reduce the amount of waste produced in our offices, including increased recycling and reduced waste to landfill. The core department has provided a range of recycling waste streams at its HQ offices to ensure the correct segregation of waste for recycling, which reduces the risk of contamination. The core department has also eliminated a wide range of consumer single use plastics from its national estate, including items such as plastic cutlery and cups and unsustainable stationery items.

Paper use

DESNZ has significantly reduced paper usage from the baseline year and is well on track to achieving this target.

Water

GPA has implemented several water efficiency measures across the parts of their estate occupied by DESNZ. This, combined with wider similar initiatives across supporting agencies and public bodies, has led to this target being exceeded. GPA also plan on implementing a ‘utility bureau’ to embed automated data-driven efficiencies and improve further, again positively impacting DESNZ’s progress.

Consumer single use plastics and re-use schemes

Consumer single use plastics: The core department has eliminated a wide range of consumer single use plastics from across the estate, including items such as plastic cutlery and cups and unsustainable stationery items, and supporting agencies and public bodies are progressing in a similar direction.

Re-use schemes: Globechain collected unwanted items for restoring and reusing from the core department. This was in place from April 2023 to September 2023 while 1 Victoria Street, London was occupied. As the core department has since vacated these premises, we are now exploring opportunities with GPA to re-introduce a similar initiative across the estate.

Apart from the GGC disclosures above, there is no use of other finite resources across the estate occupied by DESNZ.

Other GGC disclosures

Nature recovery, biodiversity, and action planning

Core department: The aim of the nature recovery plan is to protect, and where possible enhance, the biodiversity across the GPA estate we occupy. We are working closely with GPA and Natural England on our Nature Recovery Plan, which will be published very soon. GPA (who as an ‘onboarded’ department, we are heavily reliant on) have recently published their plan and we aim to dovetail into this across the estate.

Climate change adaptation plan

Core department: A climate change adaptation plan has been compiled, which consists of a climate change risk assessment across the estate and a climate adaptation plan to mitigate the risks identified. This aligns with the GGC requirement on adaptation and will support the core department to implement measures to ensure it continues to operate effectively during periods of climate-related severe weather events. The core department will also rely on GPA climate adaptation plans for implementing any building specific adaptations.

Sustainable construction

Core department: The GPA are responsible for all construction and refurbishment work related to the estate which DESNZ occupies, therefore please refer to GPA GGC reports for more information.

Reducing environmental impacts from ICT and Digital

Our 2 main hardware suppliers now use recycled parts in their products, have reduced shipped packaging, and ensure ethical standards in their supply chain. 100% of our IT services – such as data, emails, and document storage – are delivered via the public cloud. Our public cloud suppliers are working to be net zero by 2030. We have reported our measures and tangible outcomes to DEFRA. This is published in the star report.

Sustainable procurement from ICS Commercial

• We encourage completion of a sustainability risk & opportunity assessment for procurements covering environmental, social and economic sustainability, and have implemented a risk assessment of modern slavery tool
• We also have mapped social value model themes to our departmental mission. This makes it easier for suppliers to know what to expect from the department and is in place to improve the quality of social value propositions
• The government buying standards (GBS) are referenced in our sustainability guidance and resources
• We also ran several sustainable procurement council sessions with ALBs, looking at supply chain mapping and impacts, modern slavery, social value and emissions reduction. We have a supplier code of conduct in place and a departmental environmental policy. Individual action plans and templates are also in place which address sustainable procurement. The environmental policy reinforces the need to understand supply chain impacts and take proportionate action, alongside sustainability guidance which encourages supply chain impact reflections, when undertaking commercial projects
• We have dedicated resource to provide expert coaching to high-risk, material projects to help teams embed sustainability into their sourcing approaches. Training is conducted on a regular basis and teams can reach out to dedicated resource for support
• The core department no longer directly procures food or catering services, with the contract for the core department’s head office at 1 Victoria Street transferred to the GPA in 2022-23. GPA are now responsible for the application of appropriate standards in the procurement of food and catering services. For all other office locations of the core department, any food and catering services are provided as part of the property agreements and not directly procured by the core department

Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures report

The Financial Stability Board established the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) in 2015. It was tasked with developing recommendations for how organisations should disclose on their climate-related risks and opportunities through their existing reporting processes.

Since then, the TCFD have published 11 recommendations detailing how organisations should disclose on their approach to climate change. The recommendations are structured around 4 themes that represent core elements of how organisations operate:

• Governance: The organisation’s governance around climate-related risks and opportunities
• Strategy: The actual and potential impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities on the organisation’s business, strategy, and financial planning
• Risk management: The processes the organisation uses to identify, assess, and manage climate-related risks
• Metrics and targets: The metrics and targets the organisation uses to assess and manage relevant climate-related risks and opportunities

This is the first year in which DESNZ will make climate-related financial disclosures using the TCFD approach. We will continue to develop and enhance our climate disclosures in our future annual reports. This is in line with the central government’s TCFD-aligned disclosure implementation timetable. We plan to make disclosures for strategy, risk management and metrics and targets in future reporting periods in line with the central government implementation timetable.

Governance

In addition to the existing departmental governance, over the past year we have introduced cross-cutting departmental governance boards that focus on power sector decarbonisation, energy affordability, energy security and energy market design, working in alignment with the existing Net Zero Delivery Board that is already in place. These boards allow us to focus on the main outcomes we are seeking from the energy system.

The boards take a ‘top down’ view of the departmental strategy and the delivery of its objectives and have a role in assessing the risks and issues impacting delivery of those objectives, interdependencies, and providing steers and context within which Senior Responsible Owners (SRO) can set out their plans.

This assessment can then feed back into specific decision-making through:

• providing the department’s executive committee (ExCo) with recommendations for required interventions
• providing steers for consideration for any of the programmes or projects that contribute towards delivering or enabling carbon savings/decarbonising the power sector/maintaining security of supply/affordable energy supply
• ensuring plans and risk management include cross-cutting elements identified by the boards

The boards do not assure individual project, programme, or sub-portfolio performance, but take performance into account when assessing progress against objectives.

For the 4 new energy boards, the governance landscape has shifted to ensure trajectory towards meeting objectives is monitored through having an outcome focused approach instead of tracking delivery and uncertainty.

Summary of new energy governance:

The following changes to the department’s governance were adopted in February 2024:

• Power Sector (Electricity Generation) Decarbonisation Board - this board has an overall objective of monitoring the decarbonisation of the power sector (by 2035) subject to security of supply
• Energy Security Board - the Energy Security Board will ensure the department has clearly defined objectives and strategy to maintain security of energy supply (gas, electricity, oil and fuels)
• Energy Affordability Board - the board will ensure the department has clearly defined objectives and strategy for energy affordability for domestic and non-domestic consumers
• Energy Market Design Board - this board will consider the overall coherence and design of our interventions in the energy market to ensure that they are underpinned by a consistent and evidence-based approach

These boards will sit alongside the existing Net Zero Delivery Board, which reviews DESNZ’s delivery on our own departmental contribution to carbon budgets, as steps towards the overall net zero target.

Of the department’s 12 strategic risks, 3 relate to climate change and international action. We have a risk specifically on the achievability of UK carbon budget targets and the UK commitment to net zero by 2050; and 2 risks on our international influence and position – one looking at how we use the UK’s reputation for climate action to influence other global players, and another on how we use our reputation and climate policy to attract private investment to continue the roll-out of green infrastructure.

Within our developing portfolio management governance structures, our 12 delivery portfolios will directly manage risks to the achievement of their individual policy outcomes, including their contribution to energy decarbonisation, security, affordability and market design. The strategic boards for these areas will then review the portfolios’ risks through their specific ‘lenses’ and draw together where risks impact across the piece. If required, the boards can then recommend a new strategic risk be added to the DESNZ register. They will similarly be able to identify where opportunities can be taken across portfolios to improve overall delivery.

Strategy

Delivering net zero requires action across the whole of UK government which is coordinated by this department. As part of this there are also a large range of activities that the department is directly responsible for delivering. We are embedding a systems approach to consider risks, interdependencies, and assumptions that underpin the delivery of net zero. The department is the overall lead on power, buildings, and industrial decarbonisation, as well as key enablers of the net zero transition, such as green finance and research and innovation. Enabling policies, such as the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, will support the transition across the economy.

Further detail on how the delivery of UK climate ambitions would be bolstered was published in March 2023 in the Powering Up Britain: Net Zero Growth Plan and the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan. These documents built on the Net Zero Strategy to demonstrate the actions being taken to ensure the UK remains a leader in the net zero transition, and that we do so in a way that boosts growth and supports businesses.

The strategies span over 140 published policies and touch all areas of the economy, tailoring the approach in each sector to evidence on the technological readiness and cost of decarbonisation technologies. The department’s assessment of the optimal timing and scope of technological deployment is based on whole energy system modelling as well as detailed bottom-up policy-level analysis.

Please see the accompanying disclosures on our greening government commitments for information on how the department is reducing its own carbon emissions across its estate and wider operations.

Risk management

Risk management requires multiple layers of governance to be effective, ensuring that risk is managed at the appropriate level of the organisation.

Risks should first be managed locally, within directorates and programme boards and, where necessary, escalated to senior management team meetings, portfolio boards, or group-level depending on the scope of the risk and/or the breadth of the mitigations required.

Although it is not mandated, many DESNZ programmes, projects and policy delivery initiatives will consider the risks that climate change poses to delivery of the programme (for instance increased adverse weather, or rising sea levels). Where there are programmes with climate risks we monitor these through their governance boards as part of their overall risk registers or RAID logs, in line with the DESNZ risk and issue management framework.

Additionally, as part of our departmental approval processes, the DESNZ programme/project business case and the Policy Impact Assessment templates both require an assessment of the proposed activity’s impact on carbon emissions to be included, even where progressing the net zero target is not the primary objective of the proposal being approved. The guidance for both project and policy approvals state that this assessment must be in line with the green book: Green Book supplementary guidance: valuation of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for appraisal.

The cumulative position of the programmes in the department’s portfolio on limiting climate change is monitored through the Net Zero Delivery Board, which monitors progress and provides assurance on whether the DESNZ contribution to carbon budgets and net zero delivery is on track.

Metrics and targets

The UK government has set out its long-term plans for low-carbon energy supply in policy documents such as the British Energy Security Strategy and Powering Up Britain, which build on the previous Energy White Paper and Net Zero Strategy. These documents set out in increasing detail our approach to securing energy supply by facilitating investment in homegrown clean energy. This approach increases British energy independence and security while helping us to deliver on our net zero commitments and seize the economic opportunities of the transition.

As part of the Net Zero Strategy (2021) and in the Responding to the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) 2023 Annual Progress Report to Parliament we committed to report on the following metrics:

• Low carbon power generation as a percentage of total projected generation required in 2035 (GB only)
• Cumulative, installed offshore wind energy capacity (MW)

We are also developing metrics for the cross-cutting departmental boards to guide decision making and to ensure we can reflect how we are performing against our targets and ambition.

Performance in other areas

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

During 2023-24, the NDA achieved a number of major milestones in its long-term mission to clean up the legacy ponds and silos at Sellafield. This included the start of retrievals from the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo, following over a decade of planning work, as well as the removal of the first zeolite skips from Sellafield’s First Generation Magnox Storage Pond. These achievements mean that for the first time ever, Sellafield is retrieving waste from all 4 of the legacy ponds and silos, which is a huge step towards delivering the NDA purpose of creating a clean and safe environment for future generations. For further details see the NDA’s own annual report.

Fraud and error analysis

Fraud prevention, detection and estimates

Fraud and error present significant challenges to public funds. In the 2023-24 financial year, DESNZ administered a variety of grant schemes that make up a significant proportion of the department’s expenditure, which require robust controls and processes to mitigate risks to public funds.

This section sets out the actions the department has taken towards preventing, detecting and estimating fraud and error. It focuses particularly on the Energy Affordability schemes that the department administered across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years, due to their level of expenditure in monetary terms relative to other grant schemes.

Counter Fraud Expert Services (CFES)

Counter fraud provision for DESNZ is delivered by CFES, a part of the newly formed Integrated Corporate Services (ICS).

In 2023-24, CFES developed DESNZ’s capability to prevent, detect and pursue fraud through collaborative work, targeted advice and regular training. CFES has worked to ensure that DESNZ is compliant with the government’s functional standard for counter fraud (GovS013). This has included drafting the fraud, bribery and corruption strategies and developing the DESNZ organisational fraud risk assessment.

Energy Affordability schemes – overview

The government’s Energy Affordability schemes, which were implemented during 2022-23, continued to deliver support throughout 2023-24. Significant counter fraud resources were deployed throughout the year including the formation of a dedicated counter fraud team integral to the Energy Affordability schemes. This Deputy Director led team is in addition to existing departmental counter fraud resource. The primary objective of the team is to minimise the overall loss to the Exchequer from these significant schemes, with the current estimated rates of overpayments disclosed at page 43.

DESNZ submits its fraud and error data to the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) each quarter, and the PSFA complete an assurance process at the end of the financial year. Fraud and error figures for 2023-24 will be published in the Fraud Landscape Report after the assurance process has been completed.

The department takes protecting public money very seriously and this has been a key consideration in the development and delivery of the Energy Affordability schemes. Counter fraud measures, fraud risk assessments and fraud management plans were designed with input from the Cabinet Office PSFA and continue to be regularly reviewed and updated.

From the outset, the schemes were designed to minimise loss to the Exchequer. The department’s experience of other grant schemes including COVID-related schemes run by its predecessor department, BEIS, has fed into the design of the Energy Affordability schemes. A variety of preventative mitigations were at the heart of policy design, including minimising the necessity for direct application from energy users and minimising direct payment to energy users. The department worked closely with energy suppliers and local authorities. We tested supplier readiness to deliver the schemes and developed secure processes that worked with existing supplier systems to deliver discounts to households and businesses. To drive compliance, the schemes were designed to maximise the use of independent data and leverage the existing regulatory system in place in the energy market.

As part of overall scheme governance, there are several governance boards. At individual scheme level, boards include (as appropriate) expert representation from audit firms, consultants and industry regulators (representing both GB and NI market regulators). Additionally, intelligence is shared between the department and the regulators.

Energy Affordability schemes – compliance checks

Compliance programmes have been designed to prevent, detect and recover irregular payments. Compliance testing is closely aligned with the risks, controls and mitigations identified for each scheme in the fraud risk assessments and fraud management plans.

Comprehensive pre-payment compliance checks are performed before payments are made, with additional forensic review of all niche arrangements treated as non-standard cases. All payments are authorised by senior officials and some by a departmental governance board.

Post payment compliance checks are tailored by scheme. Depending on the scheme, this can include a range of testing for compliance with rules and regulations via risk-based and random sampling, as well as independent audits of energy supplier systems and processes. In certain cases, forensic reviews of claims from certain energy suppliers are also performed.

As a result of working closely with energy suppliers to comply with their obligations and adopting various compliance approaches, the department has observed increased levels of supplier compliance as the various compliance testing rounds have progressed.

Ongoing compliance checks and engagement with energy suppliers and regulators have enabled instances of both systemic and isolated errors to be corrected in as close to real‑time as possible. This has ensured end users receive the right amount of discount, as well as prompt recovery of funds where required via processes put into place through the legislation.

Energy Affordability schemes – irregular payment estimates

In all schemes a range of prevention and detection/recovery controls have worked alongside each other to protect public money. Statistical exercises were also conducted to estimate the level of irregular payments that may have occurred despite these controls. An irregular payment is any overpayment according to the scheme regulations and rules, and its value is the difference between the correct discount and the amount of discount actually delivered to the end user.

The department has developed methodologies specific to each scheme to estimate the level of irregular payments. The design of each methodology incorporates applicable public sector guidance, and expertise has been obtained to support these estimates where appropriate. Each methodology applies a variety of tests to a representative sample of payments. The proportion of irregular payments identified in the sample is extrapolated across the scheme as a whole to provide a statistically valid estimate of irregular payments in that scheme.

The table below summarises the estimate of irregular payments by scheme, within a 95% confidence interval. The total scheme expenditure listed below represents the total since the scheme’s inception, irrespective of financial year. This is because the exercise to calculate the estimates was done on a scheme basis, not a financial year basis.

The testing to produce a statistical estimate of overpayments for the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) was conducted before the scheme’s final reconciliation. Whilst the estimate shown in the table below is accurate at a point in time, reconciliation is designed to resolve most discrepancy and thus the final level of error is expected to be significantly lower.

Scheme data in the table below is presented at the level at which testing was completed to determine a statistically valid irregular payment estimate. As a result, scheme expenditure may not directly align with schemes presented at summary level in the grants expenditure note 4.4.

	Total scheme expenditure to date £m	Irregular payments central estimate £m	Lower bound £m	Upper bound £m	Sample size
Energy Bill Support Scheme GB	11,364	7.2 (0.06%)	2.8	17.3	10,043
Energy Bill Support Scheme NI & Alternative Fuel Payment NI	492	0.9 (0.19%)	0.0	3.7	1,047
Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding	61	0.4 (0.63%)	0.1	0.9	1,050
Energy Bill Relief Scheme	7,483	58.4 (0.78%)	7.9	154.8	1,300
Alternative Fuel Payment Alternative Funding	18	0.0 (0.00%)	0.0	0.6	180
Non-Domestic Alternative Fuel Payment	62	0.0 (0.00%)	0.0	0.7	406
Energy Price Guarantee	23,999	224.9 (0.94%)	188.6	263.9	11,000
Alternative Fuel Payment GB	369	0.0 (0.00%)	0.0	2.1	1,300
Total	43,848	291.8	-	-	-

Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme

The value of payments made in error during 2023-24 under the core department RHI scheme is estimated at £3.2 million (0.3% of total payments) within a 95% confidence interval of £2.1 million to £4.3 million. Applied to the expenditure total of £1,218 million (which represents the value of payments made in 2023-24, adjusted for net movements on accrued amounts payable) this would give an estimate of potential error of £3.7 million within a 95 per cent confidence interval of £2.4 million to £5.0 million. This assumes the same error rate would be incurred on the accrued expenditure when it is paid.

The value of payments made in error during 2022-23 under the same scheme was estimated at £7.2 million (0.7% of total payments) within a 95% confidence interval of £5.1 million to £9.3 million.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)

The value of payments made in error during 2023-24 under the core department BUS is estimated at £1.0 million (1.18% of total payments) within a 95% confidence interval of £0.1 million to £2.0 million.

The value of payments made in error during 2022-23 under the same scheme was estimated at £0.7 million (1.47% of total payments) within a 95% confidence interval of £0.2 million to £1.3 million.

Complaints to the Parliamentary Ombudsman

Number of complaints accepted for investigation by the Parliamentary Ombudsman in 2023-24 - 0

1. Number of investigations reported on in 2023-24 - 0
   1. (a) Investigations fully upheld - 0
   2. (b) Investigations partly upheld - 0
   3. (c) Investigations not upheld - 0
      
      
2. Number of Ombudsman recommendations in 2023-24
   1. Complied with - 0
   2. Not complied with - 0

These figures have been obtained directly from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman for the period 2023-24. When published, the report will be available at: www.ombudsman.org.uk/publications

The Ombudsman only accepts complaints that have been through the department’s internal complaints process. We aim to answer all formal complaints within 20 working days.

Performance in responding to public correspondence

We aim to respond to 80% of our correspondence in 15 working days. In 2023-24, we received 2,943 written enquiries from members of the public. We responded to 68% within 15 working days.

	2023‑24
No. of written enquiries received	2,943
No. with response within 15 days	2,008
% with response within 15 days	68%

Please note that prior year comparatives are unavailable. Prior year complaints related to BEIS as the former department, and cannot be restated.

The table below shows our monthly performance. The department was created in February 2023. We saw a slowdown in the handling of enquiries whilst the direction of the department was being established. From September 2023, we have seen performance improve to meet and exceed service standard.

	No. of written enquiries received	No. with response within 15 days	% with response within 15 days
Apr‑23	226	46	20%
May‑23	195	139	71%
Jun‑23	221	140	63%
Jul‑23	220	103	47%
Aug‑23	299	175	59%
Sep‑23	275	212	77%
Oct‑23	295	228	77%
Nov‑23	279	215	77%
Dec‑23	219	175	80%
Jan‑24	321	238	74%
Feb‑24	229	194	85%
Mar‑24	164	143	87%
Total	2,943	2,008	68%

DESNZ Equality Objectives and Information

The Equality Act 2010 requires that DESNZ must, in the exercise of our public functions and as an employer, have due regard to the need to:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act
• Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not, and
• Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

In accordance with the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, DESNZ has set out the following equality objectives as priorities for how we carry out our external public functions (as a public authority) and how we treat our staff internally (as an employer).

Our external equality objectives reflect DESNZ delivery priorities for the upcoming year and our internal equality objectives reflect the department’s values.

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External Equality Objectives:

1. Consumer security: bring down bills and have among the cheapest electricity wholesale prices in Europe by 2035.

Equality Objective:

• Pay due regard to the interests of vulnerable energy consumers in making decisions that affect all consumers, including decisions on domestic energy bills. Prepare a consultation on an updated strategy for the delivery of our statutory fuel poverty target for England.

Actions:

• We will deliver the Warm Homes Discount Scheme, which provides around 3 million rebates off the energy bills for households at risk of fuel poverty.
• We are currently undertaking a review of the 2021 fuel poverty strategy. We plan to publish this review alongside a consultation seeking stakeholder views on priorities for an updated fuel poverty strategy in the first half of 2024. We will develop potential new commitments for inclusion in any updated strategy.
• In developing an approach to future policy costs on bills, we will ensure vulnerable and low-income households are considered and that the costs of future policies are shared fairly.
• We are considering the impact of gas and electricity price rebalancing options across all energy billpayers. This looks in particular at low‑income and vulnerable consumers, including interactions with the government’s wider fuel poverty strategy.
• We will continue our work with other government departments to ensure data enables better targeting of support, including by suppliers, particularly in the identification and support of vulnerable households.
• As part of work to assess how and where the retail regulatory framework might need to be reformed to support innovation in the sector, we are considering the impacts on energy bill payers, in particular low-income and vulnerable consumers.

2. Climate security: transform our economy to ensure net zero emissions by 2050.

Equality Objective:

• Ensure that the transition to net zero is fair and affordable and does not negatively impact disadvantaged groups (in particular women, children, ethnic minorities, indigenous groups and those with disabilities).

Actions:

• We will strengthen the gender-responsiveness and inclusivity of UK climate finance for both adaptation and mitigation, including by increasing the proportion of climate finance that has gender equality as a principal or significant objective as defined by the OECD Development Assistance Committee Gender Equality policy marker.
• For new and existing International Climate Finance programmes, we will encourage delivery and monitoring and evaluation partners to take a GEDSI sensitive approach, ensuring that programmes deliver positive outcomes for people and nature.
• We will monitor the impact of our domestic climate action and clean energy policies, and any inequalities which arise, to assess the need for targeted support for disproportionately impacted groups.
• We will advocate for gender equality in the global energy transition, particularly through our membership and support of the Clean Energy Ministerial Equality in Energy Transitions Initiative and the Equal by 30 Campaign.

3. Economic security: seize the opportunities of our green energy future to create new energy industries, new jobs and exports.

Equality Objective:

• Promote equal access to employment in the energy sector.

Actions:

• Nuclear: Find opportunities to promote Women in Nuclear, leading by example as a department through supporting Women In Nuclear events, as well as applying gender diversity to public facing events and appointment processes.
• Hydrogen and CCUS: Encourage and support the CCUS industry in increasing the proportion of those with one of the 9 protected characteristics employed in the new CCUS industry by engaging industry through the CCUS Council and the CCSA. Monitor the work of various industry-led bodies as they consider the jobs and skills requirements of the new hydrogen and CCUS sectors, and review recommendations relating to the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion in these workforces. In particular, consider the Hydrogen Skills Alliance’s work to develop a Hydrogen Skills Strategy; Hydrogen UK’s work on a Hydrogen Supply Chain Strategy; the CCUS council’s workstream on the CCUS supply chain; the work of the Green Jobs Delivery Group; and the Hydrogen Energy Association’s initiative to form an early careers/transitioning professionals’ forum.

4. Energy security: protect energy security through increasing our energy independence.

Equality Objective:

• Ensure that people with protected characteristics, and people in different parts of the country, are impacted by the system costs and benefits of increasing our energy independence equitably.

Actions:

• We will support the Future System Operator to develop and improve their capability to make better decisions which consider the cross-cutting impacts of their system-wide decisions on protected groups.
• We will identify and develop policy interventions that will advance equality of opportunity across the currently under-represented protected characteristics so that they are supported and able to engage with flexibility services and smart energy technology, increasing the equality of uptake.
• We will consider how to minimise the negative impacts of the costs and maximise the positive impact of benefits of system wide developments on groups with protected characteristics. In particular, we will analyse the potential for the hydrogen levy to disproportionately impact groups with protected characteristics; we will ensure that our equality objectives and obligations under PSED are upheld in all parts of the value chain including indirect and induced benefits for the CCUS Programme; and we will consider the impact of the locational aspects of electricity market reform (REMA) and the early hydrogen and CCUS sectors.

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Internal equality objectives:

1. The building of an inclusive and collaborative culture where people belong and have the tools to grow and deliver change.

Equality Objective:

• Implement evidence backed interventions to develop diverse talent and build strong talent pipelines, so that there are opportunities for career development for people with protected characteristics, no matter where staff are based. This includes supporting increased representation of ethnic minority and disabled staff at Senior Civil Service (SCS) level according to bespoke group-level goals.

Actions:

• Baseline diversity data completion rates and drive-up completion to at least 80% across all characteristics.
• Review diversity data and set departmental representation goals, in particular focusing on ethnicity, disability, women, and socio‑economic background.
• Explore avenues and job platforms to reach diverse pools of candidates, particularly applicants from an ethnic minority and/or with a disability.
• Deliver the DESNZ Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan to enable the department to draw on a diverse range of experiences, skills and backgrounds and to embed an inclusive workplace culture.

2. We build knowledge to learn, improve and adapt, and we are bold and confident in seeking out feedback and challenge.

Equality Objective:

• Work strategically to foster collaboration and to support the building of a robust departmental equality evidence base to for policy development.

Actions:

• We will develop the Departmental Analysis Repository Tracking tool, which will enable learning by collecting data and reviewing Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) analysis in Business Cases and Impact Assessments, for xeample data collected on protected characteristics. We will assist policy teams to better assess their PSED duties/support providing data where there are gaps, and will work with the modelling team (CEEM) and HMT to improve our understanding of distributional effects of policy.
• We will make the most of lessons learned to ensure that learning is shared appropriately and ensure our repository of data, resources, and best practice is refreshed and socialised regularly.
• We will work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to consider as wide a range of viewpoints as possible using consultation to build a strong evidence base of equality impacts.

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Meeting the Public Sector Equality Duty

Assurance arrangements

The ultimate responsibility for meeting the requirements of equalities legislation in policy and decision-making lies with Ministers. They are supported by the policy and corporate services teams in the department that undertake the Equality Analysis process. They are in turn supported by the Human Resources directorate by raising awareness and capability among staff thorough training modules and signposting to authoritative guidance (for example, from the Government Equalities Office and the Equality and Human Rights Commission). The department also has information and further guidance on meeting the equality duties on the intranet available to all staff. We will continue to improve the capability and understanding of the Public Sector Equality Duty in the department to make better policy decisions that have equality considerations at the centre.

There are 2 lead senior civil servants responsible for raising the awareness of embedding equality considerations into the department’s decision-making process. They regularly report into the governance boards (such as the Executive Committee) on the department’s progress on embedding equality considerations into all policy and corporate services workstreams.

When working on policy, our officials are expected to look at the impact each option might have on people sharing any of the 9 protected characteristics. They also consider the need to avoid or mitigate against any negative impact on any group.

Ministers are advised of the impact that the proposed options may have on various groups of people, and this is considered when a policy decision is made.

We seek input from external stakeholders to gain a broader insight into our decisions. We will continue to build and develop our relationships with stakeholders and the public, including those that represent groups with protected characteristics, to improve how we carry out our public functions.

Directors and Directors General are required to consider compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty as part of regular monthly reporting, to which all senior civil servants contribute, with input coordinated by the Implementation and Delivery team.

We aim to continue to improve the department’s assurance processes to the Public Sector Equality Duty to ensure it is clear throughout the policy development process, and how we have paid due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Respect for human rights and social matters

Modern slavery statements are generally published for the preceding year. In 2021‑22, we contributed to a joint statement covering all ministerial departments, which was published in September 2023 and is the latest available – UK government modern slavery statement 2021 to 2022.

We include modern slavery risk assessments into our procurements where relevant and appropriate. Where procurements are deemed as higher risk, we have a mandatory set of steps at each stage of the procurement lifecycle to further assess supplier risk and manage it during the contract.

We provided training to commercial colleagues and contract managers to improve awareness of tackling modern slavery in public sector supply chains.

We contributed to the development and funding of procurement guidance on how to assess, manage and mitigate modern slavery risks in solar PV supply chains – addressing modern slavery and labour exploitation in solar PV supply chains.

We designed a streamlined approach to apply the Social Value Model (PPN 06/20) to DESNZ. The Social Value Model requires central government departments to deliver social value through their commercial activities. As the model is aligned to broader government priorities, we mapped the themes from the model to deliver the departmental missions. This standardised what we asked, making it easier for suppliers to know what to expect from the department and improve the quality of social value propositions.

Advertising

Our communications work supports the delivery of the department’s priorities. Where necessary, we use paid publicity and advertising. Key areas of paid advertising in 2023-24 are listed below.

It All Adds Up Campaign

This campaign promoted simple, no-cost and low-cost actions to help people reduce their energy use and bills, in the context of high household energy prices.

The campaign ran from October 2023 until March 2024 and featured advertising on billboards, radio, print, digital and social channels. We targeted audiences hardest hit by the cost of living crisis and engaged them in innovative ways such as a bespoke Snapchat Lens and gamified display adverts. Our partnership marketing efforts extended the reach of the campaign into B&Q and B&M shops, onto Amazon Alexa devices and into editorial features in national and local press.

The campaign drove over 300,000 visits to the GOV.UK/SaveEnergy website.

Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS)

The scheme, including the prepayment meter voucher scheme and the Alternative Fund, provided households with financial help with energy bills over the autumn/winter 2022-23.

We ran paid advertising during April and May 2023 to encourage people with prepayment meter vouchers to redeem them before they expired on 30 June. Activity was targeted to those areas with the lowest redemption rates and included posters at bus stops, digi vans and door drops (leaflets). We also worked with trusted intermediaries including charities and consumer groups to spread the word.

The campaign helped increase voucher redemption from 59% after the first month of the scheme to 87.5% by 30 June 2023.

Welcome Home to Energy Efficiency Campaign

The Welcome Home campaign helped homeowners identify measures to improve their home’s energy efficiency, reduce emissions and save on energy bills.

Running from October 2023 until March 2024, the campaign promoted transitioning to a heat pump using the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (grant increased from £6,000 to £7,500 in October 2023), as well as considering additional measures like insulation and rooftop solar panels. The campaign was promoted through industry, partnership and paid advertising channels including media partnerships, video-on-demand, print, out-of-home posters, digital (including online video), social and search channels. The campaign targeted consumers with an interest and an ability to invest in improving their homes and helping the environment.

Jeremy Pocklington
Permanent Secretary and Principal Accounting Officer
6 November 2024

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Next:
Accountability report

1. Notes: These figures are provisional. The final 2023 Statistics on International Development (SID) is due to be published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in late September 2024. Sector codes used by the OECD Developmental Assistance Committee (DAC) are available at www.oecd.org ↩