Minutes:
Councillor J Elmer asked the following question
On the 30th June 2021 the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee released their report Biodiversity in the UK: Bloom or Bust? that states “Since 1970 there has been a 68% decrease in population sizes of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish” and “15% of UK species are threatened with extinction. Of the G7 countries, the UK has the lowest level of biodiversity remaining”
Ecosystems might be considered as the planet’s ‘life support system’. Ecosystems provide the oxygen in the very air we breathe, they ‘host’ the carbon cycle fixing gaseous carbon dioxide, they provide pollination for our food crops and maintain a stable climate. Climate change should properly be understood as the consequence of humans exceeding the natural capacity of the planet’s ecosystems to take in CO2.
So two crises, inextricably combined, are challenging humanity on a planetary scale. The Climate Crisis is certainly the higher profile of the two, and the Council is already addressing this issue through the Climate Emergency Response Plan. The Ecological Crisis is perhaps less well understood, but its correction is equally urgent and requires profound change.
County Durham, like the rest of the Country and world has suffered a catastrophic crash of species and habitats that collectively form our natural systems. There is no question that we are currently experiencing and ecological emergency. This situation remains, despite the excellent work that the Council has delivered in relation to the North Pennines AONB, the Heritage Coast, coalfields restoration and many other worthy projects.
Cllr Wilkes, will the Council:
· -declare an Ecological Emergency; then,
· -review services to ensure cessation of any activities that negatively impact upon ecosystems and to identify opportunities to enhance ecosystems; and,
· -report back to Environment and Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny regarding the measures needed to address this emergency and their implications to the Council.
In short, will the Council adopt the same approach to tackle the Ecological Emergency as it has for the related Climate Emergency?
Councillor M Wilkes, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood and Climate Change thanked Councillor Elmer for his question and provided the following response
The ecological systems that maintain our planet are under severe pressure, of that there is no doubt. The issue is well evidenced and well understood, and the question of how that relates to County Durham and the activities of this Council is a valid and appropriate one to be raising.
The landscapes and natural habitat of County Durham - from the heritage coast, through our rivers, dales and valleys and the uplands of the Pennines - are some of our key assets. This is not only in their contribution to global environmental health, but also in making Durham an attractive place to live, work, visit and in which to thrive.
While there has historically been significant improvements in our post-industrial landscape and wildlife habitats, Councillor Elmer is correct to point out that there remains much to do.
That being said, there is a lot to consider in this question with some big and important issues being raised, and in order to give these issues proper consideration I will commit to bring a report to cabinet in October to set out a way forward on the questions that he raises.
Our goal will be, to tackle the ecological challenges we face as a county, making sure that we protect and improve our wildlife and landscapes.
My view is that we should embed into everything we do a consideration of not only our climate impact but also our ecological impacts and to promote improvement and protection of our country’s environment with every household and every business.
I look forward to working with Councillor Elmer and fellow councillors to achieve this goal.
Councillor B Moist asked the following question
At the July meeting of the Economy Enterprise OSC the Regeneration, Economy & Growth Service Grouping Report was presented alongside The Performance Management Report for the year ending March 2021, where it was highlighted that the Co Durham economy was worth £9bn. However, the economy was operating at 25% less than the UK Average, therefore the Co Durham Economy should be £12bn even if we achieved the UK average level?
At that same Economy Enterprise OSC meeting the Minutes of the Co Durham Economic Partnership meeting held on 5th May 2021, was presented where it was stated and accepted that (and I quote)
“There is no economic strategy for the County and associated programmes & pipeline of both physical infrastructure & revenue projects. It has been determined that the core aim of ‘More and Better Jobs’ from the Co Durham Vision is no more than a wish and a hope, with no real job creation strategy in place?
In summary County Durham has consistently fallen behind the rest of England in its economic activity rate, employment rate and self-employment rate. At the same time, it exceeds the rest of England in terms of unemployment and the long-term sick economically inactive population.
Can I seek assurances that this council will support this administration to deliver an all-encompassing, strong, vibrant, varied and successful economy with specific targets for job creation within a planned structured economic strategy challenging economic strategy to help DCC deliver real, ‘More and Better jobs and real improved economic benefits to the people of Co Durham.
Councillor E Scott, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Economy and Partnerships thanked Councillor Moist for his question and provided the following response:
Sadly, Durham’s relatively poor economic performance has remained a consistent and perpetuating feature of the County and one which the last administration appeared to accept. This counties fortunes have not been revived by previous governments of any political colour, not even by Labour when Tony Blair was Prime Minister.
The job before us, the Joint Administration, is to swiftly and decisively take action to boost the economy, create jobs, enable prosperity and ensure that County Durham can realise it’s true potential in a fair and equitable way.
We have inherited a number of strategies including; a regeneration strategy, housing strategy and skills strategy, and the area is also part of the wider regional arrangements that include the joint transport strategy and strategic economic plan.
However, I can confirm that County Durham does not and never has had an Economic Strategy. I’ll just give you a minute to take that on board.
I am able to advise that I intend to bring a report to Cabinet this year seeking approval to widely consult on and develop a strategy that will underpin economic growth in County Durham over the coming years and support wider updates on key issues such as skills, transport and housing.
The report to Cabinet will provide a detailed overview of the current economic position in the County particularly to understand our strengths, opportunities and areas where we must be stronger to give our communities the best opportunities.
This report will provide a clear foundation on which we can build strategic plans, implement economic and social interventions and deliver specific outcomes that will see the County Durham economy bridge the gap with the national indicators.
Under Labour we have seen plenty of unsubstantiated sound bites around job creation. Most famously the Aykley Heads announcement of 6,000 jobs which quickly turned into 4,000 jobs in the blink of an eye. I dare say if they were still in control it would be 2,000 by now.
Our new economic strategy will provide the evidence base and ambition that will help the County Council and its partners to secure regional and national funding and powers to help drive economic growth and will be closely developed with businesses, communities and the voluntary sector.
It will ensure that we are “ready” when opportunities arise and that our voice is heard both regionally and nationally. Seizing opportunities like City of Culture is vital the process. We won’t always win, but we will always be in the game.
This is going to be an intensive piece of work that will take some time to complete and in the meantime I will also ask Cabinet to approve an economic statement to help articulate our challenges and ambitions. We will use this statement until the full strategy is in place later in 2022.
An important part of the process to develop the Economic Strategy is ensuring that we have a series of ‘conversations’ with a wide group of stakeholders and I will provide further details of this to Cabinet. The strategy will need the buy in of the private sector, education, other public sector partners and the third sector if it is going to deliver our ambition.
Although the Council will be the key driver of the development of the strategy it is something that must be owned by a range of organisations and bodies. Those conversations have already begun and the response that we are getting from partners is quite overwhelming. They see a new dawn and a fresh approach and they like it.