Agenda item

The Board considered the Director of Public Health Annual Report 2013/14 entitled Climate Change and Health. Dr Jeremy Wight, the Director of Public Health introduced the report, which had also been submitted to meetings of both the City Council and the CCG. The report’s focus was the impact of climate change on health, describing the scale of the challenge and setting out the actions which could be taken to mitigate or adapt to the effects of climate change.

The Board discussed the report, as summarised below:

There were examples of good practice in relation to actions to mitigate or adapt to climate change although in many cases the City would need to develop its own approach. There might be tensions between the need for economic growth and improvements in environmental conditions such as air quality. Such decisions should not be made in isolation and the implications needed to be considered as part of a wider conversation.

A sustainability policy might be an enabling device rather than being able to ensure that Sheffield meets its carbon reduction obligations by 2020.  Air Quality was an issue for the City as a whole and it was not appropriate for the City Council and CCG to produce separate policy. This issue could best be considered initially by the Sheffield Executive Board, to determine how policy can be developed and to identify resource for the production of the policy. The matter could then be submitted to the Health and Wellbeing Board for consideration.

If a system of carbon accounting was introduced, the Board would need to make sure that it still did the right things for patients and the public. A carbon accounting system would make explicit how decisions on health and social care would affect carbon emissions and identify the necessary trade-offs.

Resolved: that the Board:

1.    Notes and welcomes the Director of Public Health Annual Report 2014;

2.    Considers the recommendations as submitted in the Annual Report and identifies those recommendations in the Report in relation to which the Board can collectively respond and take action; and

3.    Requests that a further report is submitted to the Board in 3 to 6 months’ time, setting out the Board’s responses to those recommendations..