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Memorandum submitted by the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) (ACC04)
Introduction
1. The Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) is an authoritative and informed source of comment, information and analysis on a range of local government and public policy issues. It has provided support to councils and championed local democracy for 25 years. Our 150-strong local authority membership includes Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat councils. The LGiU shares its expertise with government and campaigns to extend local authority best practice, freedoms and responsibilities. Our teams of policy analysts provide policy advice, training, consultancy, public affairs services and other resources to our members and other organisations. The LGiU was awarded Think-tank of the Year 2008 by Public Affairs News. 2. The LGiU welcomes the inquiry on adapting to climate change. We believe adaptation is fundamentally a local issue with local authorities taking a central role in grappling with the complex impacts of climate change - risks and opportunities - and setting in motion plans to build the resilience of their services and communities. 3. This submission is supported by the ideas and expertise from our work with the Local Government Flood Forum, the Local and Regional Adaptation Partnership and our policy development work for councils. We also specifically convened a roundtable of elected members to discuss adaptation and conducted a survey of 53 local authorities.
Summary 4. In response to the consultation request the LGiU has two main points: i. Local
authorities across the ii. The LGiU advocates a new framework for managing adaptation to climate change: a. A new national source of information and support for adaptation is needed. This could be coordinated by Defra, building on existing structures, or be a new organisation modelled on the Carbon Trust and Energy Saving Trust such as a 'Climate Adaptation Trust'. b. In order to coherently manage adaptation new Local Adaptation Management Boards should be considered to bring the relevant stakeholders into a democratically accountable decision making body. c. A new approach is needed where organisations locally and nationally, including central government, work better together and combine risk management with economic opportunity and social justice. The LGiU calls this approach 'Positive Adaptation' d. Those organisations taking a positive approach to adaptation and having the resources in place to do so successfully, be recognised as 'Climate Ready'.
Consultation questions and responses
What is the extent to which the Adapting to Climate Change Programme will increase resilience by embedding adaptation and climate change risk assessment into the work of government departments?
5. It needs to be acknowledged that the ACC team is relatively new and has grown significantly in the last year. Nevertheless their reach beyond Defra is limited and could not be described as embedded. The LGiU works primarily with the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) and has found it difficult to establish contact with civil servants who recognise the importance of climate change adaptation. More often than not it is seen as Defra's responsibility. 6. At the local level the LGiU survey showed that over 50 per cent of the respondents knew very little or nothing at all about the UK Adapting to Climate Change Programme. Only around 7 per cent of the respondents knew a great deal about the Programme. 7. When asked about government departments' contribution to climate change adaptation, over 50 per cent of respondents to this question are unaware of CLG's initiatives. Of those who were aware of CLG's initiatives on adaptation, respondents mainly referred to the department's planning and renewable energy policies. The elected members' roundtable also expressed concerns about the inconsistency between Government departments on approaches to responding to climate change. 8. The ACC needs to be more accessible to local authorities. Adaptation is fundamentally a local issue with local authorities taking a central role in grappling with the complex impacts of climate change - risks and opportunities - and setting in motion plans to build the resilience of their services and communities. 9. Local authorities also need a more coherent national message on the impacts of climate change and consistency between government departments' adaptation approaches. Local authorities need the confidence that the key departments they work with such as CLG, Department of Health (DH) and Defra are communicating and working together on developing support for local authorities to implement local adaptation measures.
What is the extent to which Government departments have identified the risks from a changing climate that will stop them from meeting their objectives? 10. There are signs that government departments are becoming aware of the importance of climate change such as the DH Heatwave Plan. However, it is not at all clear that this has been translated into a realisation that they might not meet objectives. 11. As ever departmental responses rely heavily upon political leadership which has been weak so far and politically it is obvious that mitigation is the priority. To help fill this gap the LGiU is convening a learning network of Councillors to debate the local political response to climate change. What is the suitability of the processes and structures in and across government departments for identifying, mitigating and managing these risks and determining the future priorities of central governments approach to adaptation?
12. The LGiU is involved in the Local and Regional Adaptation Partnership (LRAP), which is the body that is intended to coordinate activity across government departments and their links to the local and regional agenda. LRAP has many strengths but it is noticeable of the relevant government departments that could participate, only CLG regularly attends and other relevant departments such as Department for Business Innovation and Skills (DBIS), Department for Transport (DfT), Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and DH do not attend. 13. The LGiU would argue that all adaptation is local so it is hard to see how government departments can determine future priorities without a meaningful dialogue with the local and regional levels. 14. The elected members at the roundtable recognised that "until local authorities are actually seen themselves to be implementing initiatives and taking some real steps...it'll be very hard to push our constituents to do much." 15. The Government should support this leadership role from local authorities to implement adaptation within their own councils. Local solutions to adaptation based on local needs and priorities should be promoted. The roundtable discussion highlighted that there are no "one size fits all" adaptation solutions. How well has the overall direction for work on adaptation been set, the effectiveness of the statutory framework, the allocation of powers and duties and how well issues like social justice are addressed in adaptation policies? 16. Local government was excluded from the Reporting Power because it already reports progress on adaptation through the National Indicator 188. 17. As the statutory framework for local authorities, only 10 per cent of survey respondents consider NI 188 to be effective in supporting them on planning to adapt to climate change. Local authorities are concerned that the climate change indicators focus too much on scores and may not be comprehensive enough to support practical implementation. 18. On a wider issue the LGiU has been arguing that local authorities do not have sufficient powers to manage the natural resources in their area and are reliant upon quangos for expertise and resources. These defined purpose quangos are less likely to be able to integrate social justice into their decision making than local authorities. 19. Consequently, local authorities should be given the powers necessary to lead on adaptation. These powers named Local Stewardship of Natural Resources (Local SONAR) would include the ability to convene all stakeholders, raise funds and measure progress. 20. Notwithstanding the above the LGiU has argued to the CLG Select Committee that in order for local government to be seen as a political institution with a strong community leadership role it needs the authority and means to act, including adequate financial resources and a reasonable degree of autonomy.
Whether short term priorities for action including identifying and protecting key infrastructure and systems have been identified and how well these are addressed?
21. Only around 30 per cent of survey respondents had a 'great deal' or 'a fair amount' of knowledge about the Government's short term priorities for action on power, food, water and transport. Most respondents 'knew little' or were 'not at all aware' of action on defence and security. 22. The impacts of climate change on key infrastructure and systems such as power, food, water, transport, defence and security have direct implications for local authorities. As key service providers for the community, disruption to any of these systems will affect the services that local authorities have a duty to deliver both in the short and long term. 23. Local authorities and communities want to be confident that the Government has plans in place to protect the key infrastructure and systems that people so heavily depend on. By offering local authorities information of and involvement in the development of these actions, it can help councils better prepare and adapt their services.
Funding support and training
24. There is a lack of local government awareness on Government's funding support and training on adaptation. The practical support is inadequate and access to them lacks coordination and publicity. 25. In broad terms there are many gaps in funding support and training. The LGiU has been calling for a new national source of information and support for adaptation. This could be coordinated by Defra, building on existing structure or be a new organisation modelled on the Carbon Trust and Energy Saving Trust such as a 'Climate Adaptation Trust' (CAT). 26. The suggested functions of the CAT are: a. Subsidising schemes and equipment to implement adaptation solutions in communities b. Conducting social research into community uptake of adaptation solutions c. Providing specific advice for organisations on available strategies and adaptation technologies d. Setting standards for good practice e. Disseminating good practice across communities and business f. Facilitating dialogue between business and communities about adaptation g. Carrying out applied research into new adaptation technologies h. Providing incubators and accelerating development of promising adaptation technologies i. Leveraging funding from the private sector for the development and implementation of adaptation measures j. Allowing organisations to sign up for and join a club of organisations committed to adaptation (the two degree club?) k. Promoting community initiatives on adaptation l. Providing grants for improvements to houses m. Accrediting experts to give advice on adaptation 27. The CAT could bring these policies and support together and deliver them in a coherent and consistent manner so that stakeholders responsible for developing an adaptation plan or solution could have coordinated access to them. Existing funding streams could be pooled together and coordinated and used more efficiently.
The state of the funding, support, training and other resources available for building capacity to adapt to climate change. 28. Awareness of ACC activity is very low in local government and the roundtable highlighted that generally awareness of adaptation is low and consequently capacity to adapt is extremely low. Over 70 per cent of respondents claimed that Government's funding, support and training for local authorities to increase community understanding of the impacts of climate change and build council capacity to adapt as 'unavailable' or 'inadequate'. 29. The survey findings reinforce the roundtable discussion where funding was identified as a key challenge for many local authorities. There needs to be a step change in the support given to capacity building, in particular dissemination of good practice and signposting of funding sources.
The state of the funding, support, training and other resources available for specific actions to adapt to climate change, such as investment in flood risk management or the resilience of critical national infrastructure. 30. In many ways the mechanisms put in place to manage flooding will set the template for the governance of adaptation. Government has been clear about the central role local government plays in flood risk management but has struggled to find a formula that successfully integrates the Environment Agency, the water industry, local authorities and other stakeholders all of whom have ownership rights and or statutory responsibilities. 31. The LGiU has lobbied for the establishment of flood management boards that bring together the local and national stakeholders into one decision making body which is close to the people and democratically accountable. 32. This board model is worthy of further consideration in wider adaptation management, such as by establishing Local Adaptation Management Boards. These ensure a local partnership approach that brings together the most relevant organisations with a clear focus and responsibility around adaptation. This Board would be accountable to the local authority or local strategic partnership, so that adaptation is also considered at the wider strategic level and with clear political leadership. 33. Notwithstanding the issues of governance it is also becoming clear that there is a significant shortage of flood engineers. There are still some remaining staff from borough engineering departments and at least there is a professional framework to build from. Many of the challenges of adaptation are new meaning that not only is there a shortage of staff there is also no professional framework to build on.
The state of the funding, support, training and other resources available for helping individuals and organisations conduct their own climate change risk assessments and judge what actions they need to take.
34. At present the scenarios developed by UK Climate Impact Programme (UKCIP) whilst scientifically robust are difficult to work with and use at the local level. It will be difficult and counter productive to dumb down this rich information source but it does need to be complemented by solution scenarios which will help local decision makers to understand what options are available to them in a given set of climate scenarios.
The state of the funding, support, training and other resources available for the monitoring and evaluation of work on adaptation, including thoughts on how progress on adaptation can be quantified and success measured.
35. Current thinking around adaptation focuses on processes. The idea of Climate Ready is to try and describe an organisation that is prepared to adapt. Whilst this does not currently form a quantification of adaptation it is an approach worthy of further consideration.
a. Community resilience and duty of care: Local authorities are responsible for managing local resilience. As part of its responsibility to protect the community from dangers posed by impacts of climate change, local authorities need to reduce these dangers and ensure local areas and the environment are safe. As members are acutely aware of the sense among the electorate that they have the right to a safe, clean environment, local authorities will have to react responsibly or fail in their duty of care to their communities.
b. Service provision: Local authorities, as key service providers for communities, need to prepare for the diverse impacts of climate change on local services. Local authorities have a duty to prevent disruptions to local services, ensure people are prepared for the unavailability of certain services and prepare service provision that can operate in changed circumstances.
c. Financial savings: It is likely that local authorities can make financial savings in the medium to long term by investing in adaptation to climate change. For example, investment in flood defence in the short term can result in financial savings in the long term.
d. Business opportunities: Adaptation is about creating jobs and enabling the economy to be flexible to the impacts of climate change. These impacts will generate business opportunities, such as tourism and new technologies for flood defence. Local authorities can support local businesses and create an enabling environment to seize these opportunities, especially in response to the government's recent commitment to move to a low carbon economy.
e. Knowledge and expertise: Adaptation is also about bringing benefits to the communities and ensuring people are prepared for the impacts of climate change. Communities want to have the confidence that their councils have the knowledge and expertise in the area of adaptation to understand community needs, from advice on new business opportunities to mechanisms to deal with floods and heatwaves. Vulnerable groups of society would also want to be sure that councils have plans in place to support and protect them from the impacts of climate change.
The state of the funding, support, training and other resources available for the effectiveness of communication within and between departments and between government, local government, business and the general public on adaptation.
36. The roundtable identified the importance of partnership working between the Government, local authorities, businesses, third sector organisations and academia, but acknowledged that it was presently poorly developed. 37. Any messages that communicate adaptation to the general public need to strike the right balance between risk awareness and the availability of solutions. The LGiU is advocating an approach called positive adaptation (see next question). 38. There is a danger that adaptation is seen as a predominantly technical agenda. Scientific and academic models of the impacts of climate change are being developed. The UKCIP is complex and it would be a lost opportunity if the Climate Change Risk Assessment were similarly opaque. Policy solutions are only possible if people and politicians are involved. The LGiU would advocate the use of visioning as a way of helping the general public to understand the impacts of climate change and to then decide how they should respond.
The state of the funding, support, training and other resources available for whether work on adaptation should be embedded into existing sustainable development frameworks and if so how that might be achieved.
39. The LGiU is promoting the idea of positive adaptation. This approach is presented as an alternative to the current risk based and risk avoidance approach. Climate change is inevitable therefore it is sensible to put in place strategies that ensure the country, businesses and communities extract the maximum benefit. Adaptation will create the need for new technologies, new businesses, new housing and new ways of living. All these new ways of living do not necessarily have to be worse than the current one. 40. The philosophy behind positive adaptation is the beneficial integration of economic, social and environmental issues. As such it closely mirrors the thinking behind sustainable development. It should be relatively straightforward to demonstrate linkages between sustainable development policy and adaptation to climate change.
Conclusion
41. This paper represents the current thinking on adaptation in the LGiU. It draws directly upon experience of working in adaptation. In addition, the paper is informed by other work of the LGiU such as our consultation response to the Secretary of State for Local Government on 'Stronger Local Democracy'. 42. The write up of the elected members' roundtable and the full results of the survey are available to the committee upon request.
2 October 2009 |