Mr. Matthew Collins:

I accept the Chairman's point of view and disappointment with what has been provided. The format is probably slightly tricky because we come here as two or three different Departments and are usually held to account for the activities that we are undertaking, and that is how we have presented it here. It is important to recognise that the volume of cross-departmental work during the preparation of the climate action plan was phenomenal. It was driven at a breakneck speed, with tight deadlines from the Minister across the system. Structures have been put in place to ensure that there is an all-of-Government oversight approach. The nature of its implementation is that we can assign different actions in those areas. We are focused on implementing the actions set out in the action plan. Perhaps that is where we have been overly focused. There are ongoing discussions at many official levels about implementation, decisions on the different options and the pre-budget process, which is an intensive period where all Departments will liaise with the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform about options. At this time of year, what we can say as officials is very limited. No formal decisions have been made and the budgetary process is confidential until budget day. We probably have not been able to convey the level of interaction between Departments about these issues. I apologise for the disappointment at not being able to provide the information the committee hoped to have for its own decision-making.