SDG Scorecard: The UK Voluntary National Review
UKSSD’s SDG Scorecard assesses the UK Government’s Voluntary National Review (VNR) on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) based on UN Voluntary Reporting guidelines and best practice. Although there are positive signs of progress, of the eleven areas considered by partners in UKSSD’s advocacy agroup, none receive a green rating to indicate it satisfied the expectations of a VNR process.
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Four were considered poor (red), six were unsatisfactory (amber/red) and only one was satisfactory, though lacking in some areas (amber/green). None of the areas warranted a green rating for strong achievement.
Issues of particular concern include the lack of comprehensive analysis of the UK’s performance on the SDGs, the process of stakeholder engagement undertaken as part of the review and the failure to use the VNR as a way to create a step change in the UK’s implementation of the SDGs.
From its eleven recommendations UKSSD is calling for:
- A Minister in Cabinet with a domestic mandate to lead the UK’s efforts to implement the SDGs
- A commitment to develop an ambitious and comprehensive plan for the implementation of the SDGs
- Further clarity on the purpose of the stakeholder engagement mechanism to which the Government committed when it published the review and which UKSSD has welcomed