Decision details

11.

11.1

11.2

11.3

11.3.1

11.3.2

11.4

11.4.1

11.4.2

EDUCATION, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES COMMITTEE CLIMATE STATEMENT

The Committee considered a report of the Strategic Director of Children’s Services which aimed to do the following:

1. Respond to the Annual Climate Progress Report 2022/23 in a timely manner. 2. Restate the cross-party council commitment to taking what action we can to address the climate emergency, adapt our city and council for a changing climate and reduce emissions to achieve our ambition to be a net zero city and council by 2030.

3. Increase understanding of the impact climate change will have on committees, the opportunities that tackling climate change offers, and the contribution to climate and net zero action each committee is currently making and needs to make moving forward.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Education, Children and Families Policy Committee:

(a)  consider and, if not previously agreed, agree (with or without amendments) their respective statement to ensure that the proposed actions contained in such statement are reflected in their Work Programme.

Reasons for Decision

It is important that the response to the Annual Climate Progress Report is open and transparent in setting out the challenges which the local authority faces in making progress and clarifies future expectations on the part we all have to play in addressing climate change.

Committee do not currently have specific strategic goals for climate. The process required to develop these, and have the statements approved to be read at each committee meeting meant that option 5.2 was not feasible with the available resource and timeframe.

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

Not providing committee climate statements considered due to the resource required to collate.

Providing more detailed Committee Climate Statements that provided an overview of strategic climate goals, with each Chair then reading the committees statement publicly at their respective committee meeting following release of the report.