UK Voluntary National Review (VNR) is Raising the Government's Accountability towards SDGs

New Delhi: To access and reaffirm the commitment towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the UK Voluntary National Review (VNR) Process has made its model more efficient to identify gaps in implementation and enable extensive changes in its 2030 agenda.

In the VNR plan, the stakeholder engagement has also increased and a more developed plan has been introduced. There has been an expansion in the methods of engagement to gather more contributions which are now inclusive of private sectors and trade unions. A lot of critical committees have organized themselves and are ensuring tasks are well-performed. For example, the DFID (Department for International Development) received criticism regarding its approach from Commonwealth Medical trust, Restless development, Teachers Unions. [1] The UK Parliament is also involved in the VNR process to ensure  government implementation is more effective. Parliamentary debates on SDG’s have been initiated for even more honest reviews, better consultations and more effective solutions.

SDG’s 2030 focuses on “leaving no one behind” including the marginalized communities or the disadvantaged groups. For increased accomplishment, regional-level events have also been organized with social media campaigns, for instance the trending #myglobalgoal. The main goal has been to develop meaningful cooperation between government and stakeholders in the domestic sphere. Cross-government coordination has been included in the new plan as the harmonious development of all the regions will ensure the SDG’s are met with on time and efficiently, thus fulfilling the goal. Various departments have also been engaged and they work together to provide support through pensions, food, rural affairs, social care, etc. [2]

For working towards “No poverty”, the UK government has set up a strategy to provide financial assistance and basic facilities to 69.5 million people currently. The government has taken the social protection system seriously to enhance productivity and reduce poverty thereby increasing its coverage. Land ownership is an important part of their 2030 agenda as securing “land tenure” is essential for economic development and poverty reduction. Raising household income is another important agenda. [3]

The government is trying to ensure people are able to retain most of their hard-earned income through its increase in tax-free allowance income rate. They have pledged and worked on reducing unemployment among the differently-abled people by recruiting and retaining them under the initiative of Disability Confident. [4]

VNR, therefore, has been an important asset by the UK citizens by creating a new environment of increased scrutiny and accountability of Government efforts towards SDGs and also in raising the awareness about the cause among the UK citizens by ensuring their active participation.

(Tamanna Kavadia is an Intern with OneWorld Foundation South Asia)

References:

1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/implementing-the-sustainable-development-goals/implementing-the-sustainable-development-goals--2

2 UK AID- AGENDA 2030 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/603500/ Agenda-2030-Report4.pdf
 

3 https://www.globalgoals.org/

4 Bond, UK’s Global contribution to SDG’s (2017)