Agenda and draft minutes

With the agreement of the Chair, the meeting took place as hybrid consultative meeting rather than a formal, solely physical meeting. As such, it was noted that the consultative nature of the meeting did not allow for formal decisions to be made but did allow for the committee to make recommendations on the agenda items contained within the published agenda pack.

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an appeal the press and public will be excluded).

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting)

There were no appeals against the inspection of documents.

1)  To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

2)  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

3)  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:-

The agenda contained no exempt information.

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes)

No late items of business were added to the agenda.

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

No declarations of interest were made.

To receive any apologies for absence from the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor O Newton.

a)  To approve the minutes of the last formal meeting held on 15^th December 2023.

b)  To receive and note the meeting notes of the Consultative Meeting of Members of the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee meeting held on 19^th February 2024,

RECOMMENDED - That the minutes of the meeting held on the 15^th of December 2023, be approved as a true and correct record.

RECOMMENDED – To note the meeting notes of the Consultative Meeting of Members of the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee meeting held on 19th February 2024.

The following matters arising were raised:

To include Councillor J Bowden within the attendance list for the Consultative Meeting of Members of the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee meeting held on 19th February 2024.

At the discretion of the Chair, a period of up to 15 minutes may be allocated at each ordinary meeting for members of the public to make representations or to ask questions on matters within the terms of reference of the Committee. No member of the public shall speak for more than five minutes in the Open Forum, except by permission of the Chair.

Please note: Members of the public are asked to submit a video of their question or statement to climate.emergency@leeds.gov.uk  by 5.00 pm on

At the discretion of the Chair, a period of up to 15 minutes may be allocated at each ordinary meeting for members of the public to make representations or to ask questions on matters within the terms of reference of the Committee. No member of the public shall speak for more than five minutes in the Open Forum, except by permission of the Chair.

The following submissions were made as part of the Open Forum:

Bumblebee Conservation Trust

A video was played for Members that had been submitted by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, a charity dedicated to reverse the decline of bee populations, which outlined their manifesto and pledge to Government and Local Authorities to protect pollinators as pollination was crucial for a third of food production, including fruits and vegetables which contribute to healthy lifestyles. Insect pollination was also vital for 90% of plants in the UK and the natural world would be unrecognisable without them. There were over 270 species of wild bees of which, 24 were bumblebees, the honeybee was native the UK but was no longer wild as they are contained for food and honey production and didn’t contribute to wild pollination. Over the past 100 years there was widespread decline in bee numbers, with 2 species extinct since 1940, with the increase in farming, use of pesticides and loss of habitat contributing to the decline. The Bumblebee Manifesto proposed 5 core recommendations to improve the situation which focused on 3 areas which Local Authorities can impact; prioritising pollinators over pesticides, improving flower rich habitats and to go further and faster to tackle climate change. Communities should be empowered to go pesticide free and focus on bio-diversity net gain, with green spaces prioritised. Recommendations were outlined as creating pollinator habitats, phasing out pesticides and embedding pollinator action in climate and nature policies. Contact details for engaging with the charity were provided as darryl.cox@bumblebeeconservation.org with further information available online via www.bumblebeeconservation.org

The presentation slides were to be shared with Members for their information and it was proposed that protection of pollinators was to be considered as a future working group item. The Green Spaces department had employed a new Technical Officer whose work on bio-diversity was relevant to this topic. An initiative was being run at Roundhay park to introduce areas of wildflowers, with this model gaining traction and expected to be implemented at other locations.

Yorkshire Sustainability Festival

The founder of Yorkshire Sustainability Week, which was now rebranded as Yorkshire Sustainability Festival, provided an overview of the progress of the event for summer 2024, noting last year’s had been the largest business sustainability event in the North of England, attracting 1,200 people to attend 20 events in 15 locations. The festival events were scheduled over a two-week period, covering the whole Yorkshire region and comprised of a 2 day conference in Leeds at Cloth Hall Court and engagement events from the 10^th to the 21^st of June 2024. A series of round table discussions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

To receive a verbal update on the progress of the Committees’ working groups to date

An update on the recent Economy and Finance Working Group was provided, which had focused on an overview of the progress of improvements to the procurement process by addressing where value for money or social value was best applied. The Council spent approximately £1.3 billion a year on procurement and existing Government guidance noted 10% minimum weight for improvements to social

outcomes; the Council guidelines were focused on the ‘Three E’s’, employment and skills, environment and education. Opportunities for future procurement were discussed and methods to reduce waste, improve energy efficiency, increase green skills and tackling emissions, including scope 3 emissions for businesses that were engaged with. The Council could go further on procuring local businesses but also local products to reduce the overall carbon footprint and also the Committee agreed to ask all directors to report on procurement at future CEAC meetings.

.

RECOMMENDED – To note the updates provided.

To receive a verbal update from the Director of Children and Families.

The Chief Officer for Service Transform & Partnership (Children’s and Families) provided the Committee with a verbal update on the work of the multitude of the services covered by the directorate.

Phil Evans, The Chief Officer for Service Transform & Partnership, presented the following information to Members:

• The Children’s Mayor’s manifesto had primarily focused on climate change and was a positive indication for young people and their approach to making the world a better place.
• The service was listening to children voices and had developed 12 wishes of Child Friendly Leeds. Wishes 5, everyone takes more action to protect the environment from climate change, and 6, children and young people can travel around the city safely and easily were most relevant to the Committee.
• To achieve wish 5, long term and short term goals had been set in order to create an action plan, promote initiatives and establish targets and best practice, supporting provision within schools.
• An Eco-Committee Conference, chaired by the Committee Chair, was scheduled for Monday the 25^th of March from 10am to 2pm, which engaged with secondary schools to set priorities and provide resources. The Youth Summit on Climate 2020 had been attended by 100 school students and had help develop a tool kit for climate action for young people.
• Vital Energi, a large Council contractor, had engaged with Strawberry Fields and Ireland Wood primary schools to deliver climate education workshops and was expected to engage with further schools in Leeds. The ‘get creative for climate’ project had been launched to all Leeds primary schools and projects were to be submitted by the 12^th of July 2024 and were planned to be showcased to Members.
• The Assets and Access team were working with the Department for Education to improve building sustainability and energy efficiency, assisted schools and relevant estates to create premises development and facilities management plans.
• The climate impact of commuting to and from schools was considered and independent travel training was ongoing to provide diverse travel options to decrease carbon and transport needs, including plans for investing in specialist inclusive learning centres. It was noted there were limited options within social care.
• The further work identified by the service was to decrease grey fleet milage as it was the highest out of all Council departments, link up with corporate travel plans, review travel arrangements for looked after children, provide travel training and provide ultra low emission vehicles; however, resource constraints and duty of care implications were noted.

The Committee’s discussions included the following matters:

• With the vast distance travelled by the services vehicles, the methods for reducing the need to travel, through rotas and advanced planning, were queried. In response it was outlined that work on this was in liaison with Asset Management to ensure that sites were in the best locations and also providing a larger scope of options where people can access services, as well as home provision options and electric vehicles for social workers.
• With reports of poor bus provision in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

The report of the Interim Head of Place and Consents - Mass Transit, provides an update on the West Yorkshire Mass Transit Programme.

The report of the of the Interim Head of Place and Consents - Mass Transit, provided an update on the West Yorkshire Mass Transit Programme.

Stacey White, the Interim Head of Place and Consents - Mass Transit, West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) presented the report and highlighted the following information:

·  Although it was noted that West Yorkshire was a great place to live and work, the poor connectivity between areas limits opportunities and applied to both urban and rural settings. Mass transit was to integrate travel and improve the system.

·  The purposeful aim of the development of the network was to provide affordable and efficient transport, allow behavioural changes by improving walking and cycling infrastructure, clearer travel information, a single ticket across different public transport methods and an environment first approach, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2038, alongside WYCA’s declaration.

·  The approach was to be phased, with Leeds and Bradford city centres as dedicated hubs, considered to be the heart of the system, with concentrated business, commercial and leisure options. Phase one was to develop a Leeds line and a Bradford line.

·  The Leeds line was proposed between St. James’s Hospital and the White Rose Shopping Centre, with other important locations considered. The line was part of a wider regeneration plan, linking the regional centre with key housing growth and regeneration areas to the south. Work will then be conducted in consultation with Kirklees Council to create a future case to connect towards Dewsbury.

·  The Bradford line was to connect Leeds Station to Bradford centre stations, with the location for a new Bradford train station to be confirmed. The line was to complement the electrified rail system between the cities and was to create a more efficient inner city link.

·  A strategic outline case was to be submitted to the Department for Transport, with a public consultation agreed over summer 2024. Commencement for construction of phase one was estimated as 2028.

·  The sustainability strategy was to be all encompassing for planning, design, construction and operation, outcomes were established to track targets which guide design and decision making, international accreditation, such as PAS 2080:2023, was sought and four main pillars were proposed, transport, environmental, social and economic.

·  Details for the transport pillar were outlined as providing a modern transport system for the region, increased capacity, reliable service, weather adaptability, increased uptake and improved travel information.

·  The environment pillar focused on increased air quality, reduced waste, reduced energy output, increased bio-diversity, flood resilience, use of renewable energy with progress to be monitored.

·  The social pillar sought to provide health and wellbeing benefits through provision of green spaces, employment opportunities, supporting the regional economy, high construction standards, and strategizing design to provide accessibility for all people, reducing barriers to travel access and improving integration between historically less served areas.

·  The economic pillar was for education access, housing, productivity leading to economic recovery and growth, finding digital solutions with outcomes as supporting regeneration with mass transit as a catalyst for regeneration.

·  Ticketing was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

To receive the report of the Chief Officer, Climate, Energy and Green Spaces, which proposes a meeting schedule for the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee for the 2024/25 municipal year and that each meeting will progress one (or more) of the key climate change mitigation and adaptation themes.

The report of the Chief Officer, Climate, Energy and Green Spaces proposed a meeting schedule for the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee for the 2024/25 municipal year and that each meeting will progress one (or more) of the key climate change mitigation and adaptation themes.

Rachel Wainwright, Policy Officer (Climate, Energy and Green Spaces) outlined the following information to Members:

·  The report included proposed topics of discussion for the next municipal year. Dates and timeframes were to be determined.

·  There was to be 3 slots available as part of the Open Forum at each Committee meeting, matching previous arrangements. Changes to the Working Groups model were proposed to have a more neutral approach instead of workshops covering sperate topics, to create a more streamlined process and reduce repeated work. These would be referred to as ‘workshops’

·  The director updates were again scheduled for consideration across 6 meetings and were to have a greater focus on procurement and adaptation.

·  The plan had been developed in line with the years discussions and key topics identified by the Committee and was open to change and development subject to further suggestions from Members.

During the discussions the following matters were considered:

• Tracked updates for nature and tree planting initiatives was proposed, including maintenance processes and best practice for encouraging biodiversity, wildflower growth and limiting pesticide use, for future consideration.
• Indoor air quality, procurement best practice and how to positively influence services were to be considered at workshops.
• The less restrictive approach of the workshops was supported as it was considered robust, variable, an effective use of time and open to all Members.
• The WYCA green energy hub project was suggested to be covered as an item by the Committee in order to maximise the benefits of operation.
• The carbon footprint attached to access of NHS services was queried as a topic, given people often have to travel by car or appointments were provided at non local buildings. NHS partners and anchor groups were to be contacted to seek relevant data and policies on this topic.
• Members were thanked for their contributions to the Committee over 2023/24.

RECOMMENED – That the report, along with Members comments and the meeting schedule for the municipal year in Appendix 1 and provide feedback, be noted.

The date and time of the next meeting is yet to be formally confirmed.

RECOMMENDED – The date of the next meeting had not been determined at the time of the meeting.