Archived decisions

Contact: Stuart Jarvis, ext 6124 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 At the County Council meeting on 23 November 2006 Members debated the long-term vision for a sustainable Hampshire: "within 10 years Hampshire will prosper without risking the environment". Climate Change is a potentially major risk to the future prosperity and environment of Hampshire, and therefore the Leader of the Council announced his proposal to set up a Commission of Inquiry to examine the potential impacts and responses to climate change in Hampshire. The aim of the Commission is to consider the main areas of climate change impact, and to identify and prioritise action to build more local resilience to these impacts. It is acknowledged that a significant change to the Hampshire climate is inevitable, and the focus of the Commission is proposed to be on prioritising actions to address the impacts and consequences of such changes.

1.2 Every Member of the County Council was invited to engage and contribute to the considerations of the Commission through two Member briefing workshops (which were designed to assist in preparation for the start of the Commission's work); submission of evidence to the Commission; and through debating the Commission's findings at a County Council meeting later in the year. The second Member briefing workshop takes place on 28 March, where it is planned to discuss the Commission, its terms of reference, agenda and timetable. Since this report will be finalised before 28 March, the outcomes of the seminar will be reported orally at the meeting, and considered as part of the decision-making process.

1.3 The proposed structure of the Commission, including membership, a draft timetable and proposed terms of reference are included for approval. A first report is planned to Full Council in November 2007.

2. Recommendations

2.1 That the proposal for the establishment of a Climate Change Commission be approved, together with the County Council membership, terms of reference, timetable and reporting arrangements detailed in the report.

2.2 That the following Members be nominated to serve on the Climate Change Commission as County Council nominated Commissioners:

(i) the Executive Member for Policy and Resources (Chairman);

(ii) the Executive Member for Environment (Vice Chairman);

(iii) the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group (or nominee); and

(iv) the Leader of the Labour Group (or nominee).

2.3 That the Chairman, on behalf of the Commission, be authorised to co-opt additional Commissioners, or Special Advisers, to support the Commission as appropriate.

3. Proposed Structure

3.1 The Commission will be chaired by the Executive Member for Policy and Resources, with the Executive Member for Environment as Vice Chairman. It is envisaged that the leaders of the Liberal Democrat Group and the Labour Group, or their nominees, will also sit as Commissioners.

3.2 In order to give full breadth to the Commission's deliberations, it is intended that external Commissioners (outside the County Council) should also play a full part in this work. Provision is therefore made to allow the Chairman to co-opt additional Commissioners. In order to provide full support for the Commission's deliberations, it is additionally intended that individuals may be invited to assist the Commission as special advisers, or as part-time commissioners for specific aspects of the Commission's work. It is hoped that the core membership of permanent Commissioners will be finalised shortly, in order to make arrangements for the Commission's proposed induction session in April. However, it is considered important to retain flexibility over the selection of advisers at this stage.

3.3 Following the induction session the Commission will receive evidence, interview evidence providers where required and debate initial conclusions during four further monthly meetings, concluding with a final session to draw together findings, formulate a report and make recommendations to be considered by the County Council and other relevant bodies in the autumn.

4. Induction

4.1 This first session is important to the overall performance of the commission. It will need to address important issues such as:

(i) a common understanding of the likely impacts of climate change;

(ii) the policy context in which decisions are being made, and the constraints this imposes on longer term thinking;

(iii) the need to prioritise key actions to focus on maximum impacts to make Hampshire more resilient to climate change effects; and

(iv) the `modus operandi' for the Commission, the programme of hearings, and the support arrangements.

5. Evidence Sessions

5.1 Four evidence sessions are proposed, at which the Commission will consider evidence on key topic areas, including, where required, presentations from, and debate with, the evidence providers:

(i) Purpose: To inform the commissioners of the necessary background information on the topic of the hearing at a level of sophistication that will allow them to have an informed and insightful debate on the topic and to enable conclusions to be drawn.

(ii) Format: Evidence packages will be written submissions to the Commission. Emphasis will be given on the need for a core report to be reasonably brief, with technical and support information appended. A single page non-technical summary should also be provided.

(iii) Author: In order to achieve a well-rounded debate with a minimal bias toward any particular point of view, it is recommended that where possible a minimum of two witnesses are selected to appear for each hearing. A special advisor may be present on the day to answer technical questions that the commissioners may have and provide impartial guidance on the content of the evidence packages. It is expected that the authors will generally, but not exclusively, be from organisations or interest groups external to the County Council.

(iv) Coordinator: Officers from the Environment Department and the Chief Executive's Department will support the Commission, and will provide the brief for the evidence package authors. It is hoped to draw upon the resources of the corporate "Futures Group" to support this initiative. Officers will endeavour to ensure that the selected evidence session topics have a logical progression from the first to the last session, building on the previous topics to develop an increasingly comprehensive body of evidence and knowledge of climate change issues. This should resolve some of the overlap problem inherent to debating climate change.

5.2 As time is finite it is important that each evidence session accomplishes four key tasks by the end of each session:

(i) Review the evidence that has been presented
(what are we being told?)

(ii) Discuss and debate the session topic (what are our options?)

(iii) Agree the key points of the discussion
(what points can we agree on?)

(iv) Agree outcomes/policies/actions (what are we going to do?)

Each evidence session will aim to achieve all four objectives before it ends to avoid topics being raised again at the next session, creating a backlog, to maintain focus on the topic at hand and to ensure all commissioners are present when any decisions are made.

5.3 Given the time pressure to complete the session and the fact that points (iii) and (iv) must be addressed during the session (as they require a formal record), papers for each will be circulated to commissioners prior to each evidence session.

6. Summary Hearing

6.1 The final session of the Commission will draw together the findings from all of the preceding evidence sessions, and consider next steps. A report will be prepared to include these findings, which will be presented by the Leader at the Full Council meeting in November 2007.

7. Programme

7.1 The following is the outline timetable for the Commission process:

28 February 2007 - Seminar for all County Councillors (Sustainability)

28 March 2007 - Seminar for all County Councillors (Climate Change and the Commission)

16 April 2007 - Commissioners' induction

18 May 2007 - 1st Evidence session

20 June 2007 - 2nd Evidence session

17 July 2007 - 3rd Evidence session

19 September 2007 - 4th Evidence session

11 October 2007 - Final commission meeting - summary hearing

22 November 2007 - Commission Reports to the County Council.

8. Terms of Reference

8.1 Climate change is a broad and complex issue with effects ranging from the distribution of species in a back garden through to national security1. In order for the Commission to maintain a focused approach, specific topics will be drawn out via four hearings on topics that are understood at the

outset of the Commission to be of high priority to Hampshire. It is recognised that these topics are not discreet rather, it is intended that each builds on the topics that have been discussed previously.

8.2 The Commission aims to:

(i) understand the County Council's role within the broader climate change agenda;

(ii) focus on climate change adaptation measures in order to develop resilience to inevitable climate change impacts on Hampshire;

(iii) engage with the Hampshire community to ensure an informed and engaging public awareness campaign supports and accompanies the work of the Commission;

(iv) consider and recommend to the County Council priorities for action to address climate change in Hampshire;

(v) make recommendations, where appropriate, on how future decision-making, policies and performance can help to deliver a step-change in action to address climate change at a local level; and

(vi) identify key partners in addressing the impacts of Climate Change on Hampshire.

9. Impact Assessments

9.1 Assessment of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act has been considered in the development of this proposal. No adverse impact has been identified in terms of race, creed or gender.

10. Conclusion

10.1 Climate change is considered to be a major challenge to the future prosperity and quality of life in Hampshire, and as part of the County Council's commitment to a safe and secure Hampshire, the Council must look ahead and plan for its impacts. Some changes to the climate are now inevitable and their likely impacts must be considered and it must be ensured that all has been done to adapt and manage these impacts. The County Council is clear about the need for everyone to act decisively now, to help ensure that Hampshire is well-placed to adapt to the inevitable climate change that will happen over the next 25-50 years. The Commission of Inquiry will concentrate on what should be done to safeguard Hampshire's communities, quality of life and environment; in other words how Hampshire needs to adapt to Climate Change. It is recognised that this task will be a huge challenge, and that working on such a long term project, for the benefit of future generations, will need everyone to work closely with Hampshire's communities. The County Council cannot address these issues alone, therefore public awareness and community engagement will be vital to the successful outcome of the Commission's work. The County Council has accepted the challenge of community leadership, and the Commission will help it to develop priorities and focus on key areas.

10.2 The Commission arrangements proposed are considered to represent a practical, efficient and timely mechanism to address these key challenges, and will report back to the County Council in due course, with recommendations to prioritise action and set the framework for the Council's adaptation strategy.

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