Agenda item

To consider the following environment and climate change related reports scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 9 October:

·         Unauthorised encampments

·         Response to Climate Change Emergency

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Felicity Rice, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Environment and Climate Change.

The Cabinet report will be published on Tuesday 1 October 2019 and available to view at the following link:

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=285&MId=3722&Ver=4

Revised Policy and Practice for Unauthorized Encampments

The Portfolio Holder for Environment and Climate Change presented a report, a copy of which has been circulated and appears as Appendix ‘F’ of these minutes in the Minute Book.

The report informed the Board that there were variation between the existing policies and practices for unauthorized encampments across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

The report recommended that a cross party working group was established to align the policies and procedures across the BCP Council area. The unified policy for unauthorized encampments would then return to Cabinet for further consideration.

A number of questions were raised and discussed by members of the Board at the meeting, including

·         Potential reasons for the differing number of incursions between Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, particularly why there were less incursions in Christchurch;

·         The environmental impact and the cost of decontamination and cleaning following incursions;

·         The impact of height barriers and target hardening;

·         The differing approaches to incursions by predecessor councils, particularly the provision of toilets and skips in Poole;

·         Whether the approach would be to make incursions difficult or to provide facilities, this would be determined following an evidence gathering process;

·         That the policy was urgent and important and whether some decisions could be made more quickly to meet the needs of gypsies and residents earlier;

·         The importance of providing training to ensure members of the Working Group had a broad knowledge and understanding of the issue;

·         That the cost of the methods used by legacy councils should be considered when making a decision;

·         The importance of considering whether an option is good value for money, manages public expectations and can be delivered effectively within budget;

·         Whether or not a transit camp could make a difference and whether parliament should be lobbied to allow the police powers to direct to the Dorset site;

·         Whether quarterly meetings with MP’s would be beneficial in order to discuss items on the agenda;

·         Whether pre-emptive injunctions should be considered first by the Working Group and the implications the injunctions could have on other policies;

·         Whether the number of Councillors on the Working Group should be reduced to allow a swifter response;

RESOLVED that:-

To suggest to Cabinet an amendment to the recommendation included within the report, as follows:

It is recommended that Cabinet establish a cross-party member working group, as outlined in para 27, to

1.    expedite actions as a matter of urgency in anticipation of incursions for summer 2020,

2.    consider the alignment of policies and procedures across the council area and report back to Cabinet.

Vote: 11/0 Abstention 1

The Chairman left the meeting. The Vice-Chairman stepped into the Chair.

Response to the Climate Change Emergency

The Portfolio Holder for Environment and Climate Change presented a report, a copy of which has been circulated and appears as Appendix ‘G’ of these minutes in the Minute Book.

The Portfolio Holder highlighted that the world was on course for a temperature rise of 3-4 degrees and this meant climate change should be at the heart of everything the council did. This was applicable to carbon reduction but also food security, transport equality, health and clean air.

The report outlined arrangements to help facilitate the development of a Climate Change Emergency Action Plan. The plan would be considered by Council in December 2019. The report particularly highlighted the proposed governance structure and the launch of a behavioral change campaign. It also included the introduction of a Zero-Carbon Emissions Support Officer.

A number of questions were raised and discussed by members of the Board at the meeting, including

·         The cost of the additional staff member and where they would be located;

·         The cost of additional resources;

·         The potential for savings, for example through encouraging digital access instead of using paper;

·         The importance of not over promising and under delivering, and the impact this could have on the Councils reputation;

·         That having climate change and sustainability at the heart of everything the council did would lead to huge changes. It was therefore important to be clear and well-informed before agreeing to take it forward;

·         Whether an additional member of staff was sufficient to deliver the change needed;

·         That the Council should lead by example and focus on educating the workforce to be leading the way;

·         That introducing a Citizens Assembly was well received by the public gallery and what the timescales would be for its implementation. The draft action plan would be put to Council in December and could include the timescale;

·         Whether a Green Credentials Report that examined the council’s environmental impact should be produced; 

·         Whether the ecological emergency should also be considered in the plan and how to reduce the environmental impact of BCP as a whole;

·         How the councils work on this would be communicated to residents, This could be included within the plan;

·         Whether the key mission and objectives should underpin all the Councils policies and operations;

·         That the cost implications in regard to carbon footprint would be included in all impact assessments;

RESOLVED that:-

An additional recommendation is set out in the report under (a) iv that the Council produce an annual Green Credentials Report, which may be considered by Cabinet and Overview and Scrutiny to monitor the Council’s performance against targets in this respect.

Vote: unanimous