Swindon people are being urged to support a petition calling on the borough council to retain its Build a Greener Swindon Policy and Performance Committee.
The petition, backed by the council’s Labour Group, comes as the council’s own Corporate Risk Register identifies that the potential failure to achieve a net zero borough by 2050 is a significant strategic risk requiring action across every department.
The Conservative administration insists, however, that there will be no “rowing back” on the local authority’s environmental commitments.
The risk assessment warns that failing to understand and plan effectively for the transition to net zero could affect strategic decision-making, increase costs and lead to reputational damage if climate change is not treated as a priority.
Supporters of the petition say these are exactly the kinds of risks that require robust public scrutiny.
The Build a Greener Swindon Policy and Performance Committee, the supporters of the petition say, has provided that scrutiny by examining delivery of the council’s Decarbonisation Framework, reviewing environmental performance, considering major infrastructure proposals and monitoring progress against the Council’s own environmental commitments.
Labour councillor Jane Milner-Barry, the first chair of the Committee, said: “The council’s first duty is to ensure the present and future wellbeing and safety of Swindon residents.
“This means taking climate change seriously. We also have recent direct experience of how extreme heat depresses the town’s economy and are now entering another week of intense heat.
“It’s about ensuring there continues to be dedicated public scrutiny of one of the Council’s own strategic priorities. When the Council’s risk register recognises environmental performance as a corporate risk affecting every part of the council, maintaining transparent oversight is simply good governance.
“With more heatwaves on the way, now isn’t the time for the Council to be ignoring this as an issue and removing a key public space for conversations about such an important challenge facing us all.”
The petition, supporters say, comes as communities across England experience increasingly frequent periods of extreme heat, unprecedented floods and more intense storms.
Swindon Borough Council’s Director of Public Health’s Annual Report highlights the growing links between climate, public health and community wellbeing, recognising that issues such as heat, air quality and access to green space affect residents’ health.
Supporters of the petition emphasise that the committee does not make executive decisions. Instead, it holds public meetings, reviews evidence, questions officers and makes recommendations, helping residents understand how the council is delivering on commitments it has already made.
Cllr Jake Chandler, Deputy Leader of Swindon Borough Council and Cabinet Member for Strategy, Resilience and Green Infrastructure, said: “We are working with all parties to identify the best possible scrutiny arrangements for all Council operations and services.
“It is completely standard practice for an incoming administration to align scrutiny committees within the Council around the new administration’s key Council priorities and strategic objectives.
“Three years ago, the Labour Administration abolished non-statutory committees then, including removing the dedicated committees for the Council’s Children’s and Adults’ Services, which was a horrendous decision.
“To be clear, there has been no rowing back on our environmental commitments as a Council.
“Environmental scrutiny sits clearly within the proposed Communities’ Committee and Corporate Scrutiny.
“There will continue to be a meaningful departure away from the policy committee structure of the last three years, which produced little to no policies, and did not enhance scrutiny of the Council or its performance whatsoever.”
The petition remains open until 12 August and residents can sign it at https://ww5.swindon.gov.uk/moderngov/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx ID=80&RPID=168690382&HPID=168690382
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