Agenda item

The Senior Democratic Services Officer (Redditch) presented a report proposing that Members should establish a Climate Change Cross-Party Working Group.

The subject of climate change had been raised by a resident in a question that had been addressed to the Leader of the Council at a meeting of Council in June 2019.  In response to the question the Leader had indicated that the Council would be prepared to declare a climate emergency.  Following this meeting the Portfolio Holder with responsibility for climate change, the Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services, had approached Officers and asked them to draft a report setting out the requirements to introduce an Executive Advisory Panel that would focus on climate change.  Should Members agree to introduce this Executive Advisory Panel it would operate in a similar manner to the Planning Advisory Panel, whereby whilst there would be specific Members of the group all Members would be welcome to attend. 

The membership of the group was briefly discussed and it was noted that there would be five members appointed to the group, in accordance with the standard membership number for an Executive Advisory Panel.  The political party group leaders would nominate Members to sit on the group and the Chair indicated that a member from each party could sit as the Chair and Vice Chair of the group respectively.

During consideration of this item Councillor Bill Hartnett proposed an amendment to the draft terms of reference for the group.  This amendment was seconded by Councillor Greg Chance.  The amendment called for the meetings of the a Climate Change Cross-Party Working Group to be open to the public to attend. 

In proposing the amendment Councillor Hartnett commented that climate change was an increasingly serious problem on a national scale and action needed to be taken to tackle this.  It was likely that many residents and groups would be interested in the discussions at meetings of the group. 

In seconding the amendment Councillor Chance suggested that by opening meetings of the group to the public this would demonstrate that the Council was taking the subject of climate change seriously.

Members discussed the amendment in detail and in so doing noted that the purpose of the group was to provide elected Members with an opportunity to discuss climate change issues in detail prior to reporting to the Executive Committee.  This arrangement was already in place for the Council’s previous Climate Change Advisory Panel that had ceased to exist some years ago as well as for the Planning Advisory Panel, meetings of which took place in private.  As the group did not have decision making powers any findings arising from the meetings of the group would be reported to the Executive Committee, meetings of which were held in public.  Committee meetings held in public were subject to the Access to Information rules, which required various arrangements including that agenda packs should be published at least five working days in advance of a meeting.  As an alternative Members could decide to invite representatives of interested groups to provide evidence to specific meetings of the group and could choose to convene particular meetings to consult with the public.  It was suggested that the local authority was already demonstrating that the Council took the subject of climate change seriously by establishing a Climate Change Cross-Party Working Group.

On being put to the vote the amendment was lost.

RECOMMENDED that

1)        a Cross Party Working Group on Climate Change be established in accordance with the Terms of Reference at Appendix 1;

2)        the Council appoint a Chair and Vice Chair of the Cross Party Working Group on Climate Change; and

3)        the Council approve nominations from the political group leaders to the places on the Cross Party Working Group on Climate Change.