Agenda item

To receive and note questions asked and statements made from members of the public on matters which fall within the remit of the Committee

Members of the public and visiting councillors may speak at the committee, provided they have registered to speak three working days in advance.  Please complete this form (https://forms.office.com/e/AVCwuZk8mu) by 5pm on Deadline(registertospeakdeadline) or call (01962) 848 264 to register to speak and for further details.

Councillor Wallace addressed the committee regarding the retrofit housing programme and made several points which could be summarised as follows:

1. That there were clearly benefits of implementing energy efficiency measures for households.
2. He welcomed and encouraged improvements to Council homes and private properties.
3. He advised of the UK Homes Efficiency Report 2022 statistics on roof, loft and cavity wall insulation and that simple measures could save households over a thousand pounds annually.
4. That there was a need to circulate the message to wider households.
5. He raised several questions regarding the baseline EPC rating change, cost analysis, and the councils plans for implementing measures.
6. He was concerned at the council's speed of implementation of energy efficiency improvements and wished to stress the importance of avoiding further delays and having a method to track progress.
7. He suggested that further information and scrutiny of the council's performance be provided.

David Chafe, on behalf of Tenants and Council Together (TACT), addressed the committee regarding the retrofit housing programme and made several points which could be summarised as follows:

1. That to date a limited number of people within TACT had seen these papers and that the information could be difficult to convey but that it was important to ensure those involved were well informed.
2. He welcomed that the council was considering these issues and he welcomed the proposed solutions.
3. That it would be possible for one property to be having works progressed whilst the next-door property may not and that residents needed to understand the reasons for this.

Councillor Westwood, Cabinet Member for Housing responded to both contributions as follows:

1. That the council's focus was on getting the fabric of the homes in place before working on heating systems.
2. That the officer presentation would explain the journey towards the target EPC rating.
3. The intention was to focus on those areas with the greatest benefit based on a survey of 806 homes.
4. That the plan was to quickly scale up improvements for surveyed homes to at least EPC band C.
5. That he was keen to track progress against the plan and to make that progress public.
6. He acknowledged the importance of effective communication and appreciated the potential issues between working on one property but not another. He intended to collaborate with the team to ensure proper and clear communication to all residents.

Councillor Wallace addressed the committee regarding the carbon credit trading proposal and made several points which could be summarised as follows:

1. He was concerned about the calculation process for carbon credits for home energy improvements.
2. He felt that there were potential flaws and inaccuracies in the carbon credit calculation system and that the risk of inaccurate calculations could reflect badly on the council.
3. He stressed the importance of avoiding double counting of benefits and ensuring the scheme itself prevented that from happening.
4. That carbon credit systems had the potential to hinder actual carbon emission reductions.
5. That there were ethical considerations regarding the council's association with carbon credit trading.

Councillor Westwood, Cabinet Member for Housing thanked Councillor Wallace for the points he raised which would be considered further.