Agenda item

The West of England Joint Committee RESOLVED:

- To agree the principles for a revised ambition to address the climate emergency.

This report was submitted for consideration by the West of England Combined Authority Committee and the West of England Joint Committee (agenda item 8). 

The report set out a recommendation for the Combined Authority Committee’s consideration and a separate recommendation for the Joint Committee’s consideration, as follows:

Recommendation for the Combined Authority Committee:

- To approve the creation of an interim Environment Director, with a view to recruiting to this post on a permanent basis in the medium term.

Recommendation for the Joint Committee:

- To agree the principles for a revised ambition to address the climate emergency.

At the suggestion of Councillor Davies, the Chair agreed it would be appropriate for the recommendation for the Joint Committee to be considered first.

The Chair then moved the recommendation for the Joint Committee as follows:

‘To agree the principles for a revised ambition to address the climate emergency.’

This motion was seconded by Councillor Davies.

Councillor Davies commented that the work now being developed was moving in the right direction; it will be important for the Joint Committee to ambitiously deliver on the new Climate Emergency approach and, given the time lost through reframing the approach, to accelerate delivery even more quickly. He therefore supported the new approach, which must be accompanied by ambitious delivery to achieve net zero by 2030 – it will be important to challenge delivery on an ongoing basis to ensure the ambitious approach is maintained.

Councillor Guy thanked Combined Authority officers for working in collaboration with unitary authority officers in developing this more ambitious and dynamic Climate Emergency approach.  As part of this, it will be essential for the Combined Authority to embed climate emergency considerations into transport delivery.  He also appreciated the comments submitted by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. To help assist the delivery of the new approach, he felt an amendment was needed to add further wording to the recommendation, to ensure clarity about the role of the new Climate Board in delivering the ambitions and measuring and challenging that delivery and progress.

Councillor Guy then moved the following amendment to the report:

The recommendation for the Joint Committee to be reworded as follows:

‘To agree the principles for a revised ambition to address the climate emergency and that a full review of the governance and terms of reference for the new Climate Board should be approved at the next Joint Committee in October 2021.’

The amendment was seconded by Councillor Savage and Councillor Cheney.

Councillor Savage commented that there are lessons to learn in terms of how partnership and collaboration has worked; it will be important to ensure that the Climate Board’s voice, incorporating all the unitary authorities, will be listened to. 

Councillor Cheney, noting the above comment, stressed the need to ensure full collaborative working. 

Councillor Davies welcomed the proposal, as included in the amendment, to review the detail of the Climate Board’s terms of reference.  He suggested it would be appropriate to consider using a term other than ‘Board’ for this new body to avoid any confusion with the roles of the other Combined Authority boards and emphasise its difference.  It will be key to involve the voices of business and communities.

The Chair commented that clear targets will be critical in tracking progress on the delivery of outcomes; strong collaboration will be key to that delivery, including wide engagement and involvement across the full spectrum of business, and also with trade unions and voluntary and community groups.

Voting then took place on the amendment.  4 members voted in favour of the amendment, and 1 against.  Due to the fact that the Chair, as Metro Mayor, had voted against, the amendment fell.

In response to a question raised by Councillor Davies, the Director of Legal Services confirmed that in line with the constitution, an amendment considered by the Joint Committee ‘fell’ if it was not supported by the Metro Mayor.

Councillor Savage asked that committee members be sent a written copy of the legal advice on the voting arrangements (as had been supplied to the Chair in advance of the meeting).

The Chair advised that he had voted against the amendment as he did not wish to delay this decision until October, given the committee was being asked to agree and urgently take forward a new climate emergency ambition.

Councillor Savage further commented that he recognised the value of the collaborative work that had taken place across the authorities over the summer in developing the refreshed approach to tackling the climate emergency.  It will be important to ensure that robust governance is in place to ensure accountability for the delivery of key actions and that the approach is taken forward collectively.

Councillor Guy commented that the purpose of the amendment previously discussed had not been to delay the new approach; it was important, however, to ensure clarity about the role of the Climate Board to maximise its effectiveness.

The Chair stressed the importance of the authorities working together and collaboratively for the benefit of the region as a whole, and the need to urgently take forward the refreshed climate emergency approach.  Effective collaboration would also be critical in relation to bidding for government funds.

Voting then took place on the original recommendation for the Joint Committee.

The Joint Committee

RESOLVED (unanimously)

- To agree the principles for a revised ambition to address the climate emergency.

The Chair then moved the recommendation for the Combined Authority Committee as follows:

‘To approve the creation of an interim Environment Director, with a view to recruiting to this post on a permanent basis in the medium term.’

This motion was not seconded.  The motion therefore fell.

Councillor Savage then moved the following new recommendation for consideration by the Combined Authority Committee:

‘Committee notes the importance of having the right resources in place at the right time to drive forward on our ambitious climate change commitments.

Recommendation for West of England Combined Authority Committee: That an update report be brought back to the October committee meeting setting out the roles and responsibilities of a new Environment Director post, and its relationship with the Infrastructure Director and the relevant Member Advisory Boards, together with the associated financial implications. That the report sets out options for how this post can be recruited to as quickly as possible, involving all members of the WECA committee in the appointment, on a permanent contract/basis.’

In moving this new recommendation, Councillor Savage commented that employing an interim Director would be an expensive exercise and he was concerned that the current report did not include detailed financial implications on the costs of an interim Director role. He could not at this point support the creation of this interim post and the use of resources for recruitment to this (and a number of other) posts, especially given the wider context that a number of bus services were no longer being supported by the Combined Authority across the region due to financial considerations.

This motion was seconded by Councillor Cheney.  Councillor Cheney stressed the importance of all the authorities working together effectively and collaboratively; this should apply in terms of recruiting to a key interim/Director post such as that of the proposed Environment Director.

Councillor Guy expressed his full support for the principle of the proposed Environment Director post, particularly given the need to embed climate emergency considerations into all the Combined Authority’s activities and actions.  It was important though, in his view, not to set any precedent, through appointing an interim Director, for how directors are appointed by the Combined Authority.  A new Environment Director post must be fully integrated in the context of the role of the new Climate Board.

The Chair commented on the urgent need, in his view, to establish and recruit to the Environment Director post as quickly as possible.  The interim Director proposal was not intended to set any precedent for future recruitment practice.  In relation to the point raised by Councillor Savage about bus services, the Chair advised that in his view, this was a separate issue – he had written to the Minister of Transport about the challenges faced locally in relation to bus services; this letter had been signed also by several local MPs across the region from a range of political parties.

Voting then took place on the motion to approve the new recommendation, as moved by Councillor Savage.  2 members voted in favour of the motion, 1 against, with 1 abstention.  Due to the fact that the Chair, as Metro Mayor, had voted against, the motion fell.