Agenda and minutes

To receive details of any Members appointed to attend the meeting instead of a Member of the Committee.

None.

To receive any declarations of interest.

Councillor Collins – Action Plan for the First Phase of Delivery of the Environmental Sustainability Strategy (Minute No. 36) – As an employee of Bosch Thermotechnology Ltd.

Up to a total of fifteen minutes can be allowed, each speaker being allocated a maximum of five minutes, for members of the public to present a petition, ask a question or comment on any matter on the Agenda or within the remit of the Committee.

None.

Of the meeting held on 26^th January 2021 to be approved and signed.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 26^th January 2021 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Matters Arising:

Minute 26 – Minutes (27^th October 2020)

Any Other Business Lyme Disease

In response to question on a report to Committee on Lyme Disease, the Head of Environmental Operations confirmed that a plan was being worked on together with communications on this issue and would be reported to Members in due course.

That the Environment Committee consider the proposed content of the Environment Performance Scorecard for 2020/21.

The Committee considered the proposed committee scorecard for 2021/22, attached as Appendix 1 to the report.

The Corporate Director – Homes and Communities presented the report and highlighted the main points, particularly new projects and those to be removed.  The Committee’s attention was also drawn to the new KPI’s and those to be removed, which would result in a better way of measuring.

The Corporate Director – Homes and Communities, together with the Head of Environmental Operations and Head of Community Services responded to questions from Members, in particular around environmental fixed penalty notices, household waste composted targets and carbon emissions targets.

RESOLVED: That the Committee note the proposed content of the Environment performance Scorecard for 2021/22.

1.   That the Committee approves the proposed Action Plan for 2021-22 to deliver the adopted Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030; and

2.   That the Committee delegates authority to the Chair and Vice Chair to approve any amendments to the Action Plan that due to urgency may not be able to be brought to this Committee.

The Committee received a report on the Action Plan for the first phase delivery of the Environmental Sustainability Strategy. 

The Action Plan for 2021/22 included in Appendix 1 attached to the report, follows the adoption of the Strategy and looks to plan specific actions to be taken by the Council in the next two years.

The Environmental Sustainability Officer in presenting the report drew the Committee’s attention to the details of the Action Plan outlined in paragraph 3 of the report.

It is considered that the Action Plan will be a live document and updated when new funding opportunities become available.  Any proposals for additional actions or other amendments are to be considered in detail by the steering group prior to a decision by the Committee.  If an urgent response is required then delegated authority is requested for the Chair and Vice Chair to make a decision to ensure that opportunities are not missed.

Reporting of progress will be made in quarterly updates to the Corporate Management Team, Corporate Leadership Team and the member steering group.  Twice yearly progress reports will be presented to Environment Committee and through the performance scorecard as appropriate.

The Deputy Director – Policy and Strategy, together with the Environmental Sustainability Officer responded to questions from Members. 

In response to a question on paragraph 3.6 of the report, reassurances were given by the Environmental Sustainability Officer that a dedicated  biodiversity action plan is to be developed.  A wide range of groups would be assisting with this and a number of meetings had already been held by officers and updates would be made through the performance scorecard.

Members recognised that a lot of work and detail had gone into drawing up the action plan and thanked all those involved particularly the Environmental Sustainability Officer. 

A question was asked as to whether more could be done and whether we are matching the scale and urgency of the climate emergency. It would be good to get an evidence base and forecast to judge whether the plans will achieve enough or not. 

In response the Environmental Sustainability Officer appreciated that the actions within the plan are limited in terms of impact of the City’s carbon emissions, and in this context the target for reductions can appear quite low. Work to reduce the Council’s own emissions will have a significant impact on the Council’s carbon budget, particularly with regard to buildings and fleet.  The Action Plan is more limited to carbon emissions externally, but the Environmental Sustainability Officer stated that she would put together a report regarding the impact of the action plan in terms of carbon emissions.

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

1.   approves the proposed Action Plan for 2021-22 to deliver the adopted Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030; and

2.   delegates authority to the Chair and Vice Chair to approve any amendments to the Action Plan that due to urgency may not be able to be brought to this Committee.

Which in the opinion of the Chairman is of sufficient urgency as to warrant consideration.

None.