Effectiveness of National Assessments in the UK

2011 
This paper explores the challenges and lessons from recent practice and experience of applying tools such as Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Sustainability Appraisal at the more strategic and national policy level in the UK. It investigates whether or not these tools have been effective and helped to deliver more sustainable development at the high level of national policy development. The analysis is illustrated by spatial planning and energy policy case examples from the UK. It concludes that the current performance in implementing the SEA Directive for national level strategic actions is far from exemplary. At the root of the problem is the poor consideration and evaluation of reasonable alternatives, the fundamentally weak conception of sustainability adopted and the apparent perception that having to undertake an assessment and comply with the SEA Directive is a hurdle, rather than a useful mechanism for helping to deliver better and more sustainable evidence-based policy making. Measures are proposed for tackling these deficiencies, which in this case is not related to failure to transpose the Directive for these classes of decisions, but poor application.
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