None.

None.

The Panel is asked to agree the notes of the meeting held on 20 March 2024 as a true and accurate record.

The Panel agreed the notes of the meeting held on 20 March 2024 as a true and accurate record.

Cllr Miles joined the meeting.

The Panel agreed to consider items 7 (Tree Management Policy 2024-2032), 8 (Framework for the installation of renewable technologies in Council owned properties) and 9 (HRA Energy Efficiency Projects 2024/25) next on the agenda, followed by items 5 (Climate and Environment Panel Work Plan), 6 (report back on recommendations) and 10 (dates of future meetings).

Cabinet, at its meeting on 12 June 2024, will consider a report from the Executive Director (Development) seeking approval for an updated Tree Management Policy. Cllr Nigel Chapman, Cabinet Member for Citizen Focused Services and Council Companies, Tom Bridgman, Executive Director (Development), Richard Jones, Business Analyst, Chris Leyland, Tree Officer and Tina Mould, Environmental Sustainability Lead have been invited to present the report and answer questions. The Panel is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

Cllr Nigel Chapman, Cabinet Member for Citizen Focused Services and Council Companies introduced the report. The report set out an updated Tree Management Policy which detailed the Council’s policy regarding management of its tree stock and sought to align the Council’s approach to tree management with current standards and good practice.

Tom Bridgman, Executive Director (Development) added that this policy formed part of a wider ongoing piece of work around the Council ensuring it had a clear clienting position with Oxford Direct Services.

In response to questions, the Panel was advised that:

·       The policy aimed to emphasise the need to maintain trees at all costs, however the wording could be reviewed to see if it could be strengthened. Cllr Hunt had some suggested amendments to the wording which would be sent to the Cabinet Member and officers after the meeting.

·       The decision as to whether to grind a tree stump out would be down to the contractor (ODS) on a case-by-case basis; there was not a standard approach set out in the policy.

·       When surveys were undertaken on City Council owned trees, consideration would be given as to the impact of the tree on hard surfaces (e.g. pavements).

·       Replacement trees could not always be planted in the exact same location as trees that had been felled.

·       Trees with a circumference of 16-18cm established more quickly than more mature trees, which was why smaller trees were planted to replace mature trees.

·       Oxford Direct Services was contractually required to care for new trees which it planted.

·       Oxford Direct Services needed to be commissioned by the relevant body (namely Oxfordshire County Council) to plant trees in empty tree pits; it could not plant trees of its own accord.

·       The Tree Management Policy was designed to have a very narrow, specific scope.

·       The Cabinet Member and officers could further consider how the previous recommendation of the Panel could be further embedded into the policy. The previous recommendation was ‘that the Council, when it reviews its policies, explores how it could incentivise, promote and encourage the planting, retention and renewal of trees through those policies – particularly within Planning and Licensing’.

·       In relation to the recommendation: ‘that the Council, when it reviews its policies, explores how it could incentivise, promote and encourage the planting, retention and renewal of trees through those policies – particularly within Planning and Licensing’, this would be considered at the next review of the Urban Forest Strategy; it would not be considered through the Tree Management Policy as the draft Cabinet response suggested.

·       In the event that an individual/group was dissatisfied with tree management activity, the usual Council complaints process should be followed.

·       The relevant Cabinet Member would be kept appraised of reporting on tree felling and maintenance; other Members could ask questions related to tree management at Full Council meetings if they wished.

·       The Tree Management Policy could not supersede Planning documents such as the Local Plan.

The Panel agreed to recommend to Cabinet that:

1.    The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 12 June 2024, will consider a report from the Executive Director (Communities and People) seeking approval to establish a Framework for the provision and installation of renewable technologies to Council owned properties and delegated authority to the Executive Director (Communities and People) to appoint suppliers to the Framework. Cllr Ed Turner, Deputy Leader (Statutory) and Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management, Cllr Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Peter Matthew, Executive Director (Communities and People), Juliet Nicholas, Energy and Sustainability Manager, James Vilijoen, Technical Services Manager and Tina Mould, Environmental Sustainability Lead have been invited to present the report and answer questions. The Panel is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

Cllr Ed Turner, Deputy Leader (Statutory) and Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management introduced the report, which sought Cabinet approval to establish a Framework for the provision and installation of renewable technologies to Council owned properties. The aim of the Framework was to ensure efficient procurement processes which remained open and transparent, while enabling the Council to procure quickly.

In response to questions, the Panel was advised that:

·       There was confidence that there would be enough interest from providers for the Framework; and the market continued to grow.

·       The contract award criteria had not yet been finalised, consideration could be given to the weightings afforded to suppliers (e.g. for local suppliers versus national suppliers) in line with the legal requirements which applied to procurement processes.

·       Existing HRA energy efficiency projects would not be delayed as a result of establishing the Framework; the Framework would allow for projects to be progressed more quickly.

·       The Framework budget had an upper ceiling of £30m.

·       The Framework proposal was effectively in response to a previous recommendation of the Panel: ‘That the Council explores the full range of procurement options for the delivery of the projects, including alternative suppliers and the possibility of establishing medium-to-long term relationships with suppliers, contractors and sub-contractors.’

·       The Council was on track to achieve its aim of having 95% of Council housing stock at EPC C or better by 2030.

The Panel agreed to recommend to Cabinet that:

1.    Through the Framework and more broadly across the Council’s procurement processes, the Council encourages the submission of bids from suppliers which are representative of the local population of Oxford, particularly those with strong female and ethnic minority representation, to ensure that ‘green growth’ is as inclusive as possible. 

Cllr Ed Turner, Deputy Leader (Statutory) and Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management left the meeting and did not return.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 12 June 2024, will consider a report from the Executive Director (Communities and People) seeking approval for HRA Energy Efficiency projects for the financial year 2024/25 and delegated authority to award the necessary contracts. Cllr Anna Railton, Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford, Cllr Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Peter Matthew, Executive Director (Communities and People), Juliet Nicholas, Energy and Sustainability Manager and Tina Mould, Environmental Sustainability Lead have been invited to present the report and answer questions. The Panel is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

Cllr Anna Railton, Deputy Leader (Non-Statutory) and Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford introduced the report, which sought Cabinet approval for HRA Energy Efficiency projects for the 2024/25 financial year and delegated authority to award the necessary contracts. Juliet Nicholas, Energy and Sustainability Manager added that this report went hand-in-hand with the preceding report on the Framework.

In response to questions, the Panel was advised that:

·       The timetable for achieving a full set of EPCs for Council owned properties was still under development; it was confirmed that an update on the timetable would be provided at the Panel’s next meeting in September 2024.

·       An Equalities Impact Assessment would be completed for each individual project; however the assessment would primarily consider the property rather than people. Where residents had particular vulnerabilities, these would be considered in the usual way.

·       There had been instances of residents refusing access to their properties; it was hoped that these issues could be addressed by establishing show homes and via education and resident liaison.

·       The additional budget required for ground source heat pumps in the additional block of flats would be funded by budget rollover from 2023/24.

·       It was deemed that a risk register was not necessary for this report.

·       The impact of installing energy efficiency on residents would be assessed through looking at the impact on their bills prior to installation; a monitoring mechanism would be installed when the energy efficiency measures were installed to ensure systems performed as they should and to inform advice to residents on usage.

The Panel requested that an update on the timetable for achieving a full set of EPCs on Council owned properties be provided at the Panel’s next meeting in September 2024.

The Panel noted the contents of the report; no recommendations were agreed.

Cllr Anna Railton, Deputy Leader (Non-Statutory) and Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford and Juliet Nicholas, Energy and Sustainability Manager left the meeting and did not return.

The Panel is asked to consider the provisional Work Plan and agree any amendments, taking into account the list of suggested items for Scrutiny-commissioned reports at Appendix A and ensuring that any additional Scrutiny-commissioned items which are agreed have a clear and specific scope.

The Scrutiny Officer introduced the item; a provisional Work Plan and suggestions for the longlist of Scrutiny-commissioned reports for 2024/25 were included within the agenda pack. A number of items from the longlist had already been scheduled into the Work Plan, along with a number of items arising from the Panel’s work in the previous year.

The Panel requested that the Scrutiny Officer explore with officers the feasibility of scheduling in the following additional items to the Work Plan for 2024/25:

·       Loss and Damage to the Council as a result of climate change (e.g. costs incurred by the Council as a result of recent flooding) and how this could be addressed/funded.

·       Energy efficiency in the Council’s commercial property portfolio, including potential for repurposing Council car parks (e.g. as active travel hubs).

In relation to the ‘loss and damage’ item suggested, Tina Mould, Environmental Sustainability Lead advised that the County Council was doing a piece of work around climate adaptation; when that had concluded then officers would do some work from a City Council perspective, however this was unlikely to be until 2025. The Panel requested that an update be provided to the Panel at its meeting in September 2024 as to the County Council’s progress and a timeline for when a more detailed update including the City Council’s work could be presented to the Panel as a substantive item.

The Panel was of the view that the ‘loss and damage’ suggestion was separate to the work being carried out by the County Council on climate adaptation and requested that the Scrutiny Officer still explore the feasibility of an item on this matter being considered by the Panel in 2024/25.

Tina Mould, Environmental Sustainability Lead advised that the energy efficiency in the Council’s commercial property portfolio and potential for repurposing Council car parks would likely sit under the Council’s Asset Management Strategy.

The Panel agreed the Work Plan as set out in the agenda pack, noting that the Scrutiny Officer would seek to schedule in additional items as detailed above.

Cabinet has not considered or made responses to any Climate and Environment Panel recommendations since the previous report back on recommendations on 27 February 2024. All outstanding responses to recommendations will be reported on at a future Panel meeting.

The Panel is asked to note and comment on the recommendation tracker.

Cabinet had not considered or made responses to any Climate and Environment Panel recommendations since the previous report back on recommendations on 27 February 2024. All outstanding responses to recommendations would be reported on at a future Panel meeting.

The Scrutiny Officer introduced the recommendation tracker, which set out all Panel recommendations to date since the Panel was first established, Cabinet responses to recommendations and whether or not the Panel was continuing to monitor recommendations. The Panel noted that it may be necessary to move the recommendations which were no longer being monitored into a different tab within the document to avoid the tracker becoming too long, but the Panel agreed to keep this under review at subsequent meetings.

The Panel noted the recommendation tracker.

The Panel is asked to note the dates and times of future meetings of the Climate and Environment Panel.

·       05 September 2024, 6pm

·       20 November 2024, 6pm

·       26 February 2025, 6pm

·       27 March 2025, 6pm

Meetings will take place remotely via Zoom.

The Panel noted the dates and times of future meetings.

The Panel agreed, subject to Cllr Harley confirming her availability after the meeting, to move the meeting scheduled for 05 September to 10 September and requested that the Scrutiny Officer make the relevant arrangements.