Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Environment and Enterprise

The Committee received a report of the Corporate Director of Environment and Enterprise which provided responses to Members comments raised on the draftClimate Change Action Plan and Delivering Warmer Homes (HECA) report when it had previously been considered on 18 December 2013.  The Chair drew Members attention to the Lead Member report which appeared on the supplemental agenda.  The Committee agreed to consider the Lead Member report as a matter of urgency for the reasons set out on the supplemental agenda.

Members noted the correction to page 69 of the report in that it was Cabinet Members not officers who needed to ensure that reports were complete, correct and meaningful.  The Lead Members stated that the results of their meeting with officers would feed into the consultation process and advised that it had been a useful exchange.

A Member sought clarification on the position in terms of Harrow’s application to be a fair trade borough, including how much had been spent to date and how much would be spent going forward.  The Director of Environment advised that whilst he did not have this information available he understood that work was underway.  The Leader of the Council stated that an error had been made in a response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request in relation to this issue and the cost to date was in the region of £2,000, not £30,000.  He added that responding to FOI requests had cost the Council approximately £300,000.

In response to a Member’s question in relation to the launch of London Big Switch, an officer advised that the Council would be launching Harrow’s Big Energy Switch to help residents to reduce their fuel bills.

In response to a Member’s question as to the cost of compliance in meeting the climate change agenda, an officer advised that the officer cost of meeting the statutory requirements such as Display Energy Certificates, the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) scheme, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting and administering the Council’s energy reduction programmes was in the region of £100,000 a year.  In the current year, the Council had invested £500,000 in its carbon reduction capital programme resulting in a saving of £100,000 in energy costs per year.  Making investment in energy efficiency therefore represented a sensible business case going forward.  The government’s programme to reduce carbon emissions and fossil fuel use was designed to avoid significantly adverse changes to the global climate and ensure the country’s future energy security in a world where energy costs were rising and energy frequently came from politically unstable parts of the world.

A Member expressed concern that the Committee would not have the opportunity to comment on Appendix B, which would set out the revised measurement methodology for the Climate Change strategy, prior to its consideration by Cabinet.  It was suggested that either a challenge panel be established or the leads and other interested Members meet to discuss the appendix prior to Cabinet.

The Director reported that the Government had recently published its Carbon Reduction Commitment performance league table for 2011/12 and that Harrow was in the top quartile nationally and in the top 3 in London. Members congratulated officers on this success.

The Chair thanked officers for their attendance and responses.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)               the relevant Scrutiny Leads and other interested Members consider appendix B prior to its consideration by Cabinet;

(2)               the Committee’s comments be forwarded to Cabinet for consideration.