Agenda and minutes

To appoint a member of the Panel to Chair the meeting.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Hannah McKerchar be appointed as Chair for the duration of the meeting.

To receive apologies for absence from those Members who are unable to attend the meeting.

No apologies were received.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on  10 January 2024.

The Panel considered the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 10^th January 2024.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the previous meetings be approved.

Members will be asked to say if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have any disclosable pecuniary interests or any other interests, which may prevent them from participating in any discussion of the items or participating in any vote upon the items.

No Interests were declared.

Most agenda items take place in public. This only changes where there is a need to consider exempt information, as contained at Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. You will be informed at this point which items are to be recommended for exclusion and to be resolved by the Panel.

All items were considered in the public session.

The Panel will receive any petitions and/or deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also submit a petition at the meeting relating to a matter on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10, Members of the Public must submit a deputation in writing, at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting and shall subsequently be notified if the deputation shall be heard. A maximum of four deputations shall be heard at any one meeting.

No deputations or petitions were received

To receive any public questions.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, the period for the asking and answering of public questions shall not exceed 15 minutes.

Any questions must be submitted in writing at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting.

No public questions were received.

The Panel will consider the draft Environment Strategy: Everyday Life and the draft Cabinet report.

Contact:

Robert Green – Senior Climate Change Officer

The Panel considered the Environment Strategy: EverydayLife presented by Katherine Armitage, Service Director - Environmental Strategy and Climate Change.  Councillor Aafaq Butt, Cabinet Member for Culture and Greener Kirklees was also in attendance.

During the presentation it was explained that;

·         The Environment Strategy aimed to address the climate emergency whilst also tackling the ecological emergency and broader social and economic challenges.

·         The Strategy was a high-level partnership framework which aimed to achieve a more environmentally sustainable future.

·         It outlined the vision to harness the power of the natural environment to improve the lives of people living, working and studying in Kirklees.

·         The detailed plans for the delivery of the targets set out in the overarching strategy were incorporated into the various policies and documents beneath it.

·         The Strategy had been co-designed with key stakeholders including 1039 residents and 549 representativesof partner organisations, businesses, institutions and community groups.

·         The Strategy was organised into 4 pillars which covered 12 targets and 31 wider objectives. The 4 pillars were:

o   Closing The Loop: Tackling waste through ensuring all products, systems and services are designed to maximise value and minimise waste.

o   Nurturing Nature: Nature recovery and biodiversity, including a reinforced local plan and nature-basedsolutions for issues like flooding, woodland creation, and peatland restoration.

o   Bringing It Home: Renewable energy and more sustainable neighbourhoods, including net zero new housing and a focus on reducing fuel poverty through renovating homes to be greener

o   Kirklees On The Move:Better, greener transport options for all, including better rural bus connections, more walking and cycling and a radically improved Electric Vehicle charging network.

·         The Strategy also set out 3 key priorities which underpinned all work streams including:

o   Sustainable Economic Development: Supporting sustainable opportunities for growth and avoiding short-term economic plans that worked against nature and climate targets.

o   Resilient Futures: Nurturing ‘Climate ready’ communities, making them better prepared for the impacts of climate change, and coping with the effects, especially for the most vulnerable.

o   Environment for All: Supporting fairness, greater inclusion, diversity, and accessibility, particularly for underrepresented communities, minority groups or those with disabilities.

·         The vision set out in the strategy was to be implemented through a partnerships pledge to enable collective action and deliver the ambition for the district.

·         The voluntary pledges asked for a two-fold commitment to act and monitor progress.

·         10 partners had already pledged in advance of approval of the strategy by Cabinet and more pledges were anticipated following the completion of internal governance processes.

·         Effective governance was key to ensure that the relevant monitoring, evaluation, and reporting was undertaken to translate the strategy into tangible change.

·         To achieve change work was needed across services to embed the ambition within policies, processes and governance.

·         As a Council a Learning and Organisational Development module was to be launched to colleagues across all services to embed the principles of the strategy into day-to-day work.

·         Building on previous successes there were plans to explore innovative and mainstream ways to resource  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Panel will consider its work programme for 2023/24.

Contact:

Jodie Harris, Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer

The Panel considered its Work Programme for the 2023/24 municipal year. 

RESOLVED:  The Panel noted the work programme, and it was agreed that an update in relation to operational issues of bin collections be requested for presentation in March.