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Net Zero Report and Cabinet Response 20:45-20:55

Minutes:

6.1  The Chair introduced this item and informed the Commission that there were no offices in attendance for this item.

 

6.2  The reports attached in the agenda under item 6 was the joint scrutiny report on Net Zero the Chair pointed out that several recommendations in the report were made by the Commission and Cabinet had provided a response to those recommendations.

 

6.3  The Chair recapped on this item and outlined that it was recognised that to reach the UK’s net zero ambitions will require all tiers of government, businesses, institutions, and communities to work closely together.

 

The Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and has been building its vision to transition to net zero since.  Hackney, and the UK generally, has made good progress in reducing emissions over the last decade, but it is recognised that faster and coordinated action will be needed to protect communities and the environment from the effects of climate change.

 

The Net Zero Review was established by Scrutiny Panel in October 2021. It was set up to look at what is needed to meet national and local net zero targets set by Government and the Council.  This review also looked at how the Council planned to meet its ambitions in a manner that was affordable, efficient, and fair.

 

The review was an amalgamation of work by the overarching Scrutiny Panel and the thematic Scrutiny Commissions: Health in Hackney, Living in Hackney and Skills, Economy, and Growth during the municipal year 2021/2022.

 

The report and recommendations were finalised and agreed by Scrutiny Panel in April 2023 and the Executive response was agreed by Cabinet in October 2023.

 

6.4  The Commission was being asked to note the Executive response.

 

6.5  The Chair highlighted that 14 recommendations out of the 27 submitted were made by the Commission.  The Chair asked the Commission to review the response and confirm the following.

a)  if they were satisfied with the Executive’s response,

b)  if they think the council was on track with the progress outlined

c)  if in their view further work was needed by the council. 

 

6.6  The Chair asked the Commission when reviewing the Executive response to consider if they were comfortable that the response is suitably ambitious and clear. 

 

6.7  Comments, observations, and questions

(i)  The Chair commenced the discussion by pointing out she had concerns around the risks of waiting for others to make progress instead of doing the work.  The chair wanted to see ambition and action in relation to the recommendations.

 

(ii)  Cllr Premru acknowledged the work was in progress and developmental and referred to the points on partnership on page 42.  Highlighting the current London wide picture of decentralised energy and pipeline schemes were a combination of future projects and collaborative investment opportunities.  The Member referred to the North London Waste Authority and asked if the council was actively building on this work with other boroughs?

 

(iii)  Cllr Premru also referred to page 43 and the impact of waste management work and objectives to reduce residual waste and improve food recycling and compositing rates.  The Member wanted to know if there this was scheduled for review (recommendation 22).

 

The Chair clarified the recommendations referenced related to the Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commission and would be monitored by this scrutiny commission.

 

(iv)  Cllr Smyth referred to page 49 and commented that the strategic officer’s climate group was the tool to delivering the Council’s three-year implementation and action plan.  The Member asked for a report back from this group.

 

The Chair agreed.

 

The Chair commented that it was unclear what level of officer seniority was on this climate action group.  Although the council had a director with climate in their title.  It was important to make sure that governance processes were robust.

 

ACTION

Overview and Scrutiny Officer to add this to the work program suggestion list for 2024/2025.

 

 

 

 

Supporting documents: