Agenda item

To hear any deputations received from members of the public in accordance with Standing Order 67.

Prior to the consideration of the Climate & Ecological Emergency Strategy, the Chair welcomed Mr Ian Saville and Ms Sheila Simpson to the meeting, who were in attendance on behalf of Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE) Brent, to present a deputation regarding Brent’s response to the climate and ecological emergency. Mr Saville began by acknowledging the efforts of the Council and the Committee, despite the difficult circumstances and financial pressures faced due to reduced central government support and austerity. Nevertheless, the Council was called upon to establish a more coherent and ambitious approach to ensure that the objective of 2030 net neutrality was achieved, particularly given that the impact of climate change was said to disproportionately affect the most vulnerable residents. In reiterating the need for further urgency and attention on the matter, Ms Simpson outlined the following requests:

•         To establish a two-way decision making process that enabled greater resident input and community discussion, due to dissatisfaction with the current community forums. It was stated that ACE Brent could support in recruiting members for such a forum and the development of the 2024-26 Climate & Ecological Strategy Delivery Plan was identified as a unique opportunity to introduce new forms of community participation.

•         Although welcoming the inclusion of climate considerations in all corporate reports, concerns were raised that many reports stated that there were no implications. Thus, it was suggested to introduce more training for officers to effectively identify the climate implications relating to their proposals and to enable policies to be amended to strive for positive climate implications.

•         To further commit to establishing Healthy Neighbourhood areas, given that four out of five schemes had been withdrawn, and to explore the adoption of more in-depth consultative processes.

•         Despite commending the new Brent Climate Action Data Dashboard and the commitment to publishing more information on the Council’s website, it was felt that estimating carbon reduction impacts was integral to prioritise the most impactful work. Furthermore, Ms Simpson suggested collecting more comparable data for all Climate & Ecological Strategy themes.

•         The Council was called upon to refresh the Climate & Ecological Emergency Strategy to ensure it was comprehensive, consolidated all green strategies and encompassed all of the Council’s workstreams. Moreover, ACE Brent recommended the establishment of a dedicated climate scrutiny committee to ensure appropriate oversight.

•         Officers were urged to commit to actions relating to transport, retrofitting, fiscal divestment, planning, regeneration, renewable energy, tree planting, the protection of green spaces and the encouragement of plant-based food consumption.

In concluding, Ms Simpson and Mr Saville thanked the Committee for providing time at the meeting to discuss the above matters and hoped for further cooperation and progress on the climate and ecological emergency.

Following the deputation, the Chair invited members to ask two questions to Mr Saville and Ms Simpson, with questions, comments and responses summarised below:

•         In highlighting that ACE Brent represented 14 groups across the borough, the Committee questioned the commitments that the organisation could make to further support the Council’s efforts regarding the climate emergency. In response, members were advised that, although specific commitments could not be made at the meeting, ACE Brent could coordinate volunteers and access expertise in various climate-related areas.

•         Members stated that the Healthy Neighbourhood schemes were withdrawn as a result of the consultation processes rather than a lack of commitment to change. In response, Mr Saville suggested that public consultations required alterations to ensure that one section of the community did not hold disproportionate influence. However, the practical difficulties of running public consultations and ensuring all voices were heard was recognised.

Following the conclusion of the deputation and additional questions, Mr Saville and Ms Simpson returned to the public gallery and the Committee turned to consider the next agenda item.