Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

RESOLVED – to confirm the non-exempt Minutes of the Improvement and Scrutiny - Climate Change, Biodiversity and Carbon Reduction meeting held on 20 September 2021.

(Questions may be submitted to be answered by the Scrutiny Committee, or Council officers who are attending the meeting as witnesses, on any item that is within the scope of the Committee. Please see the procedure for the submission of questions at the end of this agenda.)

There were no public questions.

Joe Battye, Director of Economy and Regeneration introduced the report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, giving an overview of current work and opportunities for accelerating low carbon growth in Derbyshire, particularly in providing support for businesses, skills and training, and the adoption and manufacture of new technologies.  A presentation provided more detail on the key work programmes currently being delivered.

The Council’s ambitions to de-carbonise the Derbyshire economy were well publicised and set out in key documents developed in partnership with Derbyshire local authorities; key business organisations and Federation of Small Business (FSB); transport providers; universities; colleges and Government departments.  A summary of the Recovery Strategy’s proposals were outlined together with key projects and programmes implemented to date. 

Councillor Tony King, Cabinet Member for Clean Growth and Regeneration reinforced the approach of the Council and work done by officers, to date; he particularly welcomed and encouraged training in green skills.  He stated that there was a general consensus that hydrogen was the way forward for buses and this would be trialled by a county bus company sometime in the future.

Committee members also applauded the work done by officers however enquired into the use, and consideration, of other technologies such as water, agricultural waste, wind and rail; the County’s cycle plan; digital infrastructure resources and funding.  However concerns were expressed around the export of carbon from of the county.

Denise Ludlam, Climate Change Officer introduced the report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, giving an update on the Council’s Climate Change Engagement Plan, Action Plan and approach to monitoring and reporting on progress of the delivery of the Council’s Climate Change Strategy: Achieving Net Zero (2021-2025) and overarching carbon reduction targets.  The report was supported with a presentation made by Ms Ludlum.

The Plan set out how the Council would engage with its communities to establish and agree delivery mechanisms and communicate crucial climate messages and information to Derbyshire’s residents and businesses and had been developed and supported by the Corporate Management Team and the Cabinet Member for Strategic Leadership, Culture and Tourism and Climate Change, and Leader of the Council, Councillor Barry Lewis.

The Action Plan focussed on the priority actions, those that were likely to have the biggest positive impact on emissions reduction and those that required the most immediate action and implementation.  Other projects and initiatives may be added to the Action Plan and monitored accordingly.  The Plan would be reviewed and updated in full on a quarterly basis.

Mechanisms for monitoring and reporting on progress and delivery of the Strategy were detailed.  Progress against a range of Deliverables and Measures within Service Plans were reported on a quarterly basis.

Janet Scholes, Assistant Director for Asset Management introduced the report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, outlining the process for ensuring that carbon reduction measures were embedded in the Council’s asset management decisions.  A presentation gave a summary of the Council’s Property 2025 programme to review every land and property asset and ensure that an effective plan was in place for their management.

The presentation illustrated how Property 2025 linked back to the Climate Change Workshop on Property held in 2020 and helped to deliver the findings and four main priorities highlighted in that workshop.  It also took the Committee through the asset planning process, which would ensure that property performance was benchmarked, measured and an appropriate plan was in place for improvements, ultimately leading to greatly improved performance across the property portfolio.  This aligned with the Council’s asset rationalisation programme which was driven by a number of strategic objectives, including carbon reduction.

RESOLVED to: receive the presentation.

Councillor Major, Chairman of the Committee invited Members to join a scrutiny working group to consider potential Nature Recovery initiatives that fall within the remit of the Council.