Agenda and draft minutes

1.1

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors’ Neale Gibson and Mazher Iqbal.

2.1

No items were identified where resolutions may be moved to exclude the public and press.

3.1

Councillor Paul Turpin declared a personal interest in item 7 of the agenda (item 6 of these minutes), ‘Climate Change Action Plan - Domestic Retrofit: Concluding Session’ by virtue of him being a Director of an insulation company.

4.1

Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 13^th January 2022

The Committee received the minutes of the meeting held on 13^th January, 2022, and arising therefrom:

(a)  Item 5.2.5, members asked for details of the written response to Ms Carpenter on her question relating to Carbon Literacy Training; and

(b)  Item 5.3.2, members asked for details of the written response to Ms Ashe on her question relating to climate change issues being addressed through Sheffield’s Local Plan.

4.12

RESOLVED: that the Committee:-

(a)  approves the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 13^th January, 2022, as a correct record;

(b)  requests a copy of the written response given by Mark Whitworth (Sustainability and Climate Change Service Manager), to Ms Carpenter, to include details of the content of the online training; and

(c)  requests a copy of the written response given by Simon Vincent (Local Plan Service Manager) to Ms Ashe.

4.2

Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 10^th March, 2022

The Committee received the minutes of the meeting held on 10^th March, 2022.

With regard to Item 5.22 (e), Councillor Masters read out a letter that had been drafted to the Rt Hon Greg Hands MP, Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change and the Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, COP26 President, requesting that the Government work jointly with Sheffield City Council to understand the retrofitting needs of Sheffield’s housing stock.

4.21

RESOLVED: that the Committee:-

(a)  approves the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 10^th March, 2022, as a correct record; and

(b)  gives approval for the letter as seen to be sent to Government ministers, with the Chair, Deputy Chair and Councillor Wood (as Co-operative Executive Member for Housing, Roads and Waste Management) as signatories, and for the letter to be shared with Core City local authorities.

5.1

There were no public questions or petitions received from members of the public.

6.1

The Committee received a report of the Head of Strategic Transport, Sustainability and Infrastructure detailing the key points from the Domestic Retrofit Working Group evidence gathering sessions. The report also outlined the next steps in the process.

6.2

In attendance for this item were Tom Finnegan-Smith (Head of Strategic Transport, Sustainability and Infrastructure) Mark Whitworth (Sustainability and Climate Change Service Manager) and Jill Hurst (Head of Housing Investment and Repairs).

6.3

Mark Whitworth confirmed that after hearing evidence from external organisations, key areas for discussion with the Committee had been identified. This would help to inform the Plan, identify the work needed to implement this and the expected outcomes.

6.4

The key themes for members of the Committee to consider were:

1.    To clarify the Council’s approach to funding to enable officers to maximise the benefit of available resources and to get bids ‘in the bottom drawer’, including how to utilise opportunities such as Levelling Up;

2.    Regional collaborative approach was key to increasing buying power for successful grant bids and maximising skills development;

3.    Addressing cost and benefit was critical for private rented tenure, improving engagement, having the right tools to support action and engaging landlords to participate in retrofit;

4.    Engaging with residents early to test generic assumptions, barriers, and willingness of local population;

5.    Understanding the city’s property stock and archetype; understanding the maintenance schedule;

6.    Targeting ‘ready-to-act’ through the development of an informed homeowner offering for those able and willing to act now could begin to support retrofit in homeowner occupant tenure, enable scale up of activity, and development of the sector with a view to drive down costs; and

7.    Building skills and supply chain was crucial to enable delivery at scale and at an affordable cost. The Council had roles in procuring housing works, setting regulatory standards and in supporting the development of skills.

6.5

Mr Whitworth reminded the Committee that they were being asked to:

·       Reflect on the evidence provided to it in the February meetings;

·       Consider if the key themes identified were correct; and

·       Provide a report to Officers and to the subsequent Committee (or Committees) to outline the current position and to make advisory recommendations for actions to continue, improve and accelerate activity.

6.6

Mr Whitworth advised that funding offers often came with a very short turnaround time, and resources were needed to maximise funding opportunities. Collaborative/regional approaches were very important in terms of securing funding and maximising wider opportunities, including skills. It was also important to engage early with residents and maximise their support in the process. Manchester had been a good example of how residents had powered a successful retrofit programme. In terms of building skills and the supply chain, options were being considered to increase the scale across the city and the region at an affordable price.

6.7

The Chair noted that the evidence provided had been helpful and believed it had been useful to hear experiences from other regions.

6.8

Members of the Committee raised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.1

The Committee received and noted a report of the Policy and Improvement Officer (Alice Nicholson) containing details of the activity undertaken, and setting out the topics which the Committee had considered during the Municipal Year 2021/2022..