The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Health and the Environment, Councillor Tobin Byers, welcomed the opportunity to bring this issue for pre-decision scrutiny prior to discussion by Cabinet on 13 July. He stressed his personal commitment to the urgency of addressing climate change and the importance of collective action by the council, partner organisations and residents to deliver the desired outcomes.

Tom Walsh, Sustainable Merton’s representative on the Climate Emergency Working Group, said that the response to the Covid pandemic demonstrated how much could be achieved when there is a clear rationale, leadership and funding. He said that climate change is a more dangerous threat with the potential for a much greater loss of life and he stressed the importance of lobbying in order to access new sources of funding and redirect existing funding streams.

The Director of Environment and Regeneration, Chris Lee, introduced the report. He re-iterated the urgency of the issue and highlighted the need to ensure that the climate change strategy is linked to other council strategies.

Chris Lee said that the action plan would present a funding challenge for the council, currently costed at £88m but this is certain to change. The increase in remote working will reduce some of the costs of council and other buildings but there is a need to invest, particularly in school buildings, to deliver renewable energy solutions. Also, infrastructure is required across the country in order to deliver the scale of new technology that will provide heating systems for homes, businesses and schools. This is currently unaffordable for most householders.

Councillor Byers, Chris Lee, Katie Halter (Climate Change Manager)  and Dominique Hill (Climate Change Officer) provided additional information in response to questions:

·         The council’s economic strategy is nascent, reflecting the financial situation of the council. The Director will look at how this could be addressed.

·         The stakeholder group provided considerable professional expertise and assistance in developing the action plan. The implementation phase will need to reach out across the borough’s diverse communities and engage with people for whom climate change is not a priority. Scrutiny of the implementation phase will sit with the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

·         The climate action plan workshop in February 2020 was attended by Clarion and some private housing developers. Local Plan policies are currently being reviewed to identify how these could embed mitigation measures and more ambitious standards, particularly for new buildings.

·         Sustainable travel policies will focus on the promotion of active travel (walking and cycling) as these generate zero emissions and also have health benefits. Electric vehicles will be the preferred option for circumstances in which private vehicle use is essential but these are not carbon neutral when embodied carbon is taken into account.

·         The council will apply for all relevant external funding opportunities it is able to as they arise.

·         The council is working with London Councils and the London Environment Directors Network to develop a London wide green approach to recovery from the pandemic. The recent statement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer provides grounds for optimism about this.

The Chair read out a number of recommendations to assist Cabinet and Council in taking this important policy initiative forward and to ensure that progress is subject to scrutiny. These were all agreed, with the addition of a specific mention of the promotion of low car and no car environments for new housing developments.

The Overview and Scrutiny Commission therefore RESOLVED to recommend to Cabinet that:

·      the Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan be embedded in all Merton's policies where relevant, just as the equalities policy is now;

·      the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel should be asked to monitor delivery of the Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan and successor plans for the next 30 years;

·      delays in the adoption of the Local Plan be used to check that its policies reflect the ambitions of the Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, including in relation to the promotion of low car and no car environments for new housing developments;

·      the role of the voluntary and charity sector, including Sustainable Merton, in encouraging individual actions to mitigate climate change is recognised and supported by the Council.