Agenda and minutes

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If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business:

§  if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent;

§  you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. 

In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

*(a)     Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain.

(b) Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union.

(c) Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council.

(d) Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area.

(e) Licences- Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or longer.

(f) Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

 (g) Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital. 

This applies to all members present at the meeting.

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That the minutes of the Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 2 October 2014 be confirmed as an accurate recording of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them subject to the following amendment:

-        That the first objective in the Community Energy scrutiny initiation document be reworded to clarify the meaning.

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Andrew Ford, Energy Advice Manager, presented written evidence from the charity Forum for the Future.

 In the presentation the following points were made:

·        The evidence was Forum for the Future’s response to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s Consultation on Cutting the Cost of Keeping Warm: a New Fuel Poverty Strategy for England. The document outlined the resources community groups would need. These included the provision of clear and accurate information, access to training providers and advice and resources for marketing campaigns. Typically resources came from local authorities.

·        In the past, Islington Council had undertaken energy reduction programmes. However, there had not been any resources to undertake community engagement for a number of years.

·        To date, no community groups had approached the Energy Team about community energy projects.

·        Energy schemes should be carried out in line with the energy hierarchy i.e. firstly, reducing energy; secondly, insulating homes; and thirdly, generating energy.

·        In response to a question about the efficiency of the housing stock, members were advised that the most energy efficient was council housing, followed by social housing, then owner occupied housing and then private rented housing. Most council housing was flats which were generally more energy efficient than houses due to there being fewer roofs.

·        The council had undertaken solid wall insulation. If there was a choice between insulating and installing double glazing, generally insulating should be prioritised.

·        It was important to ensure there was a joined up approach between different departments.

·        There was a community energy scheme in Bannister House, Hackney. The council had provided £40,000-£50,000 plus officer time and procurement advice. The scheme resulted in community development and included community cohesion and apprenticeships. There was a Camden community group currently looking for a commercial building, who were not looking for local authority funding but would use council resources such as planning services.

·        If a community group contacted the council, the Energy Team would try and support them and put them in touch with the relevant people.

·        It was suggested that more information on community energy could be provided to councillors, staff and tenants and residents’ associations.

·        The Energy Team acted as consultants to the Housing department and advised them when grants were available and advised on the design of buildings and schemes. Often government grant money came with conditions. The council successfully bid for £6.5m between six boroughs. The funding required owner occupiers to contribute to work on their properties and they could apply for Green Deal finance to assist with this. Although this funding could only be used for owner occupied properties, the council combined the grant with other grants to do work on whole blocks as this was cost effective.

·        Landlords did not always invest in making their properties more energy efficient. The council’s Housing department had a health and safety rating system with 29 measures including cold, damp and mould checks. The environmental health team conducted spot checks and residents could also contact them to request a visit. If the property was found  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

Garrett McEntee, Interim Group Leader M&E – CIP, gave a presentation on communal heating systems.

In the presentation the following points were made:

·        In Islington there were 4,268 homes, in 48 blocks, connected to communal heating systems.

·        The council had a preference for retaining or replacing communal heating.

·        There was an opportunity to utilise energy from existing combined heat and power (CHP) plant. Heat generated from CHP was pumped to local housing estates connected to communal heating systems. An example of where this was in use was the Bunhill Phase 1 “Energy Centre” CHP plant. This would help to address the targets set in the Energy Conservation Act 2000 to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016 and help to reduce the levels of greenhouse gas emissions (34% of 1990 levels by the year 2020 and 80% by 2050).

·        The council’s current policy for communal heating was agreed in October 2010 following consultation with residents and it took into account residents’ preferences. Heating was provided for 18 hours per day, 36 weeks per year. Heating was turned on during late September and was turned off at the end of May. Within this period heating was provided between 6am and midnight.

·        Some blocks with specific issues had agreed variations to the communal heating policy e.g. in some blocks it was not possible to install cavity wall insulation so the properties did not retain as much heat as properties which were more insulated.

·        Providing heating for more than the current 36 weeks per year would result in an additional cost and increased carbon dioxide emissions.

·        There were a number of benefits to communal heating. It helped to support the council’s Fairness Commission objectives included in the current Islington Corporate Plan i.e. decent, suitable and affordable homes. The installation of communal heating systems made homes easier to keep warm and more affordable to heat. Communal heating systems helped to break the cycle of fuel poverty where a household had to spend over 10% of its income on energy costs. It was estimated that 8.1% of households in Islington were living in fuel poverty.

·        It was generally recognised that communal heating, in conjunction with decentralised energy schemes would provide a more economical source of heating and hot water than individual boilers.

·        Paying a flat rate meant that tenants could budget more easily which helped to address the impact of fuel poverty on vulnerable and low income residents and helped to mitigate the worry of heating costs. Heating and hot water costs were included in the monthly service charge spreading the cost across the entire year as opposed to just the winter months when there was increased demand for heating.

·        A communal heating system consistently used less energy than an individual heating system by a range of 7.5% to 11%.

·        Communal heating reduced the risk of illnesses associated with condensation or dampness. Condensation and dampness could have significant negative health impacts, especially for the very young, the elderly and those with long term health conditions.

·        There  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

RESOLVED:

That this item be considered at the next meeting.

Questions from members of the public were addressed during the relevant items.