* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Consultations - Lancashire County Council
Heaven and Earth (book) wikipedia , lookup
Economics of climate change mitigation wikipedia , lookup
Fred Singer wikipedia , lookup
General circulation model wikipedia , lookup
Global warming wikipedia , lookup
Climatic Research Unit documents wikipedia , lookup
Climate resilience wikipedia , lookup
2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on human health wikipedia , lookup
Climate sensitivity wikipedia , lookup
Climate change denial wikipedia , lookup
ExxonMobil climate change controversy wikipedia , lookup
German Climate Action Plan 2050 wikipedia , lookup
Climate change feedback wikipedia , lookup
Economics of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Low-carbon economy wikipedia , lookup
Attribution of recent climate change wikipedia , lookup
Climate change in Australia wikipedia , lookup
Climate change and agriculture wikipedia , lookup
Climate governance wikipedia , lookup
Climate engineering wikipedia , lookup
Mitigation of global warming in Australia wikipedia , lookup
Climate change adaptation wikipedia , lookup
Media coverage of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Climate change in Tuvalu wikipedia , lookup
Climate change in Canada wikipedia , lookup
Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment wikipedia , lookup
Scientific opinion on climate change wikipedia , lookup
Politics of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Solar radiation management wikipedia , lookup
Citizens' Climate Lobby wikipedia , lookup
Public opinion on global warming wikipedia , lookup
Climate change in the United States wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on humans wikipedia , lookup
Surveys of scientists' views on climate change wikipedia , lookup
Climate change, industry and society wikipedia , lookup
Climate change and poverty wikipedia , lookup
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme wikipedia , lookup
Lancashire Local - Burnley Meeting to be held on the 27th April, 2009 Part I - Item No. 8 Electoral Divisions affected: All Lancashire Locals Climate Change Fund – First Year Review (Appendices ‘A’, ‘B’, 'C' and 'D' refer) Contact for further information: Clare Phillips 01772 534195, Lancashire County Council, Environment Directorate, [email protected] Executive Summary The Lancashire Locals Climate Change Fund (LLCCF) supports community projects on climate change. It is part of a package of measures within the County Council’s climate change programme. This report reviews the operation of the LLCCF up to December, 2008, (just under 12 months of operation of the fund). Recommendation Lancashire Local-Burnley is requested to:i. note the revised funding allocations to each district as summarised at Appendix 'A', and detailed at Appendix 'D'; and ii. note that each LLCCF applicant is asked in future to describe their project's contribution to delivering the emerging Lancashire Climate Change Strategy, and district climate change strategy (where one exists); and iii. comment on the operation of the fund so far, with a view that officers might be able to make further changes, but also recognising the need to retain some universal operating principles; and iv. note the report. -2- Background and Advice The LLCCF seeks to support community projects on climate change. The Government's UK Energy Review emphasised the essential role to be played by individuals in tackling climate change. It also highlighted the role which communities can potentially play in stimulating and supporting individual action. In light of this, the LLCCF seeks to mobilise individual behavioural change through community projects. As the national Energy Review states: “If we are to be successful in delivering the long-term cuts in carbon emissions that we need to avert dangerous climate change, the involvement of individuals will be critical. There are many barriers to individual engagement, but we anticipate that local authorities and community groups can play a key facilitating role" LLCCF projects can either be aimed at ‘reducing greenhouse gas emissions’, or helping communities to ‘cope with the impacts of climate change’. Allocation of Funds The Fund is available for three years. The annual £250,000 fund is shared across all 12 Lancashire Locals, according to the domestic carbon dioxide emissions per head of population in each district (as opposed to total carbon dioxide emissions per head of population – in other words industrial emissions are excluded). Funds were allocated according to 2004 data from DEFRA, which was the most recent data at the time of allocation in summer 2007. Any under spend of the fund at the end of each year is carried over into the next year by the Lancashire Local. In November, 2008, CO2 data was released by DEFRA (for the year 2006). Using this would mean that funds are allocated according to Appendix 'A' for the next financial year (2009/2010). Appendix 'D' shows how the calculations have been made. Number and Range of Projects Since the Lancashire Locals Climate Change Fund was launched at the end of October, 2007, two funding rounds have been fully completed. At the time of writing this report, the third funding round is two thirds complete. Since the fund commenced, a total of 105 applications have been made to the Fund. 55 projects have been successful in receiving funding and a total of £349,933 has been awarded. In turn this has contributed to a minimum of £2.6 million of external funding being levered into the county during the first two rounds. -3- A diverse range of projects has been proposed by a broad variety of community groups, (Appendices ‘B’ and ‘C’). Some examples of projects submitted include: Insulation of community buildings. Installation of solar panels and ground source heat pumps in community buildings. Installation of energy saving light bulbs in community buildings. Community tree planting. Insulation and energy efficient heating in church buildings. Energy audits of community buildings. Installation of a wood pellet heating system in a community building. Installation of a solar panel to supply hot water to a community centre. Setting up village green teams Using alternative forms of transport to the car 2007-08 was the first year and only had one bidding round from October, 2007, to January, 2008. This round resulted in 23 successful applications and a total of £154,002.10 was awarded. Projects that were successful in applying are detailed at Appendix ‘B’. 2008-2009 is the second year and has three bidding deadlines; 30 th May, 31st October and 31st January, 2009. The first bidding round of the second year (2008) closed on 30th May. There were 26 successful applications and £175.542.71 was awarded. Projects that were successful in applying are detailed at Appendix ‘C’. The second bidding round of the second year (2008) closed on the 31st October. There were 24 applications and at the time of writing this report, the Lancashire Locals were considering the applications. So far six applications have been successful in this second round. There will be a further three rounds in 2009-2010. Raising Awareness of the Fund Striking the right balance between inviting applications and the amount of funding available is important. It is clearly important to ensure funding is allocated successfully at the end of each year, so ensuring maximum community benefit. It is also important to have a competitive bidding process with several applications, but not to the extent that a large number of applicants are left disappointed. At the end of the first financial year (2007/2008 - which started half way through the year and contained just one bidding round) some £97,000 was unallocated, and carried over to the next financial year. -4So the second financial year (2008/2009) had £347,000 (£250,000 plus £97,000). Despite this, it appears that almost all of the funding will be allocated in 2008/2009. In some districts the total amount of money available for 2008/2009 has already been allocated after the first bidding round. Burnley, Lancaster, Preston, and Rossendale no longer have any funding available this financial year (2008/2009). Any applications received for these districts will be kept on file until the start of the next financial year (April, 2009). Any further awareness raising activity might generate many more applications than can be funded, leading to wasted effort and disappointment from community groups through falsely raised expectations. It might also put each Lancashire Local under pressure to make some difficult choices. In light of the above, the current level of awareness raising is probably about right. That said, the number of applications from each district is being monitored. If a district is showing significant funds still available, a targeted promotion of the fund will be made. To date, promotion of the fund has consisted of: a letter and guidance pack sent to each of the 195 Parish and Town Councils in Lancashire. Several articles in Vision throughout 2008. Several articles in local newspapers, either advertising the fund or celebrating successful projects. Email awareness raising among community and environmental groups. Web site promotion. Awareness raising by County Councillors. Awareness raising by officers with partner organisations. Regular agenda items on each Lancashire Local and on the Cabinet Committee. Awareness raising of the fund through talks and presentations to community groups. Focussed awareness raising in Ribble Valley district, including a second mail out to each parish council. External and 'in kind' Funding Successful applicants have also secured or applied for a significant level of external funding and support for their projects. In some cases the additional external funding has been significant. In other cases projects have included in-kind donations and offers of help e.g. loan of office space, or free materials. Wherever possible a monetary value has been assigned to this additional support and details have been provided at Appendices ‘B’ and ‘C’. It is difficult to provide a figure for the ‘total’ amount of additional funding levered in, as some climate change projects are just one element of a much wider programme that has attracted significant lottery funding, for example. To include these funds would skew the results somewhat. -5- Nevertheless, the County Council’s fund has contributed to a minimum of £2.6 million of external funding being levered into the county during its first two rounds. Role of the Appraisal Officer and the Lancashire Local The main aim of the LLCCF is to engage communities and individuals in tackling climate change (as mentioned above in relation to the UK Energy Review). Carbon reduction is also important, but it is not the only driver. Other aspects of the County Council's climate change programme deal specifically with carbon reduction in a more focussed way. Because of this, carbon reduction is not the sole consideration by officers when appraising applications to the fund. Other factors such as community engagement are just as important, so that projects can help to mobilise individual behaviour change. Some difficult choices have to be made between competing projects when a limited amount of funding is available, especially when it is near impossible to estimate carbon savings from projects A hypothetical example helps to illustrate the dilemma. For example, Project 'A' seeks to create a piece of community art in a town centre using redundant high energy light bulbs. The aim is to encourage people to make behavioural changes in energy use at home. Project 'B' seeks to install 12 inches of loft insulation in a local scout hut to save energy. Which project saves the most carbon? Which project is the most effective? These questions are difficult to determine. Because of this quandary, officers can only make a professional judgement on each application to advise the Local on the merits of each application. They can advise, drawing on their professional experience, on issues such as deliverability, finance, community engagement and links to other initiatives. They cannot make the decision on which project to fund, especially where separate projects have similar or indeterminate climate change outcomes. That decision is for the Local to take based upon its preferences and local knowledge. This can be quite challenging when the Local has several competing applications to choose from, with funding available for just one project. To help make selection a little easier, it might be worth appraising the application against the objectives of the recently emerging Lancashire Climate Change Strategy, or even the district climate change strategy where one exists (two districts now have local climate change strategies). The application form can be amended in future to ask applicants to identify how far their project aligns to the emerging Lancashire or the district climate change strategy (where one exists). -6Internal operation and fund housekeeping The LLCCF is a new fund. Six months after the fund started, Environment Directorate officers conducted a review of the fund's operation to see how things were working internally. Advice was sought from appraisal officers, internal audit, and officers from democratic services. Several internal changes have been made to strengthen the fund's internal operation, with some useful recommendations from internal audit. These low level risks involve things such as reconciling separate financial systems, tightening procedures on claw back, and strengthening project monitoring after implementation. Operational demands and staff time Operation of the LLCCF involves a significant level of officer time. Presently, an officer is allocated to each district. Each officer undertakes a number of preapplication development roles, often working with community groups to help advance their thinking and project development, before an application is submitted. Applications are appraised and reports prepared and submitted to the Local, accompanied by the appraising officer. So far, 105 applications have been submitted. Successful projects are further supported, and monitored/visited to ensure delivery is on track. This process is replicated across 12 districts. There is also a significant central role in administering the fund, typically involving 3 days per week of officer time. Whilst the fund's operational demands are manageable, it does mean that less time is available to develop new climate change projects. Seeking the views of each Local The fund has been operating for 11 months at the time of writing this report. While some important lessons have been learned, it is inevitable that more time and more dialogue will reveal information that allows the fund's working arrangements to be further sharpened. The fund will also benefit from the views of the Locals by consulting them on the operation of the fund over this period. It is felt that each Local will be able to provide valuable insights, drawing on their experience. In its considerations the locals are asked to note the need to retain some universal operating principles for the fund. Consultations N/A. Implications: This item has the following implications, as indicated: -7- Risk management This report suggests some changes to the fund's operation. Some housekeeping changes to the fund will reduce risks further. Financial There are no significant financial changes, and funding is within previously agreed limits. The changes in allocation of the fund to each district (still within the same overall total) should not pose any significant risks. This review report shows that funding requests from applicants are in some cases outstripping available funds. Each Lancashire Local will be reminded of its funding limit when approving applications. Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 List of Background Papers Paper Date Contact/Directorate/Ext Lancashire Local Climate Change Fund report to Cabinet Committee September, 2008 Andy Mullaney/ Environment Directorate/Ext: 34190 Lancashire Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan : Consultation Draft Report to Cabinet Committee on Climate Change & Environment 19th November, 2007 Clare Phillips/ Environment Directorate/Ext: 34188 Reason for inclusion in Part II, if appropriate N/A.