Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the distributional effects of his Department's recent changes to the Green Book methodology.

The Green Book is the government’s guidance on how to develop and appraise policies that meet Government objectives. The guidance provides a framework for policymakers to think through all relevant costs and benefits of a proposal, including any distributional effects that may arise in particular parts of the UK, or to groups within UK society. It also makes clear that all proposals must take equalities impacts into account as required by the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under the Equality Act 2010.

The updated Green Book contains stronger references to equalities requirements alongside further detailed guidance and requirements on distributional and place-based appraisal to ensure that distributional effects are not overlooked.

However, the Green Book is not a decision-making tool with direct distributional effects. Instead, the Green Book provides a framework for considering and presenting relevant information which helps to shape advice to Ministers and decisionmakers who take the final decision.