Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and reported that this would be the last meeting of Alistair Allender as he would soon be retiring and would be replaced by Sarah Maylor.  He thanked Alistair for his work on the Board.

He also welcomed new Board Member, Sado Jirde, representing the Black South West Network.

Apologies for absence were received from Rob Kerse, Penny Walster, Cathy Provenzano, Laura Welti, Cllr Nicola Beech and James Durie.

To elect a Co-Chair of BHCB

As discussed at a previous meeting, the Chair asked for nominations for the position of a co-chair to support in the work of the Board.

There was one nomination from Pete Daw, which was supported by the Board.

RESOLVED – that Pete Daw be elected as co-chair of the Bristol Homes and Communities Board.

To confirm as a correct record

RESOLVED – that the minutes of the 14 May 2020 were agreed as a correct record.

Matters arising

The Chair confirmed that following the public forum questions raised by Acorn at the previous meeting, he had met with representatives of Acorn to discuss the issues in greater detail.

In response to a question about the current position in relation to rough sleepers and those being temporarily accommodated in hotels the following comments were raised:

• The Government had announced a new fund for when hotels were due to open on 4 July to help ensure people did not have to return to the streets and it was hoped that Bristol would receive a substantial amount, although the process for applying for the funding had not yet been made clear;
• In Bristol, there was currently just under 300 people residing in hotels and a further 311 had moved on;
• Once funding was secured, it would be useful for the Council to meet with Housing Associations and private landlords to see how they could support initiatives;
• In addition to the risk of people returning to the street at the point when hotels reopened, there was also a risk of more people becoming homeless once the furlough scheme and the ban on evictions ended.   

To consider any public forum representations

There was no public forum received.

Alex Minshull, Climate Change Manager BCC, set the context for the following two items and reported that both fuel poverty and climate change were long standing problems and although good progress had been made in some areas, there was no simple fix and action was required by a lot of agencies across the city as well as changes in policies at national government level.  He confirmed that there were also risks associated by competing pressures and it was important to ensure that action to improve one area would not make things worse in another area.  He also drew attention to BCC initiatives, such as expanding heat networks in the city and the City Leap project, a joint venture with the private sector to support the delivery of the target for Bristol to be carbon neutral by 2030.

1. Presentation by Aisha Stewart and Hannah Spungin

HS/AS gave a presentation summarised as follows:

• unhealthy homes caused problems for people of all ages;
• a lot of cost was taken by NHS as people often ended up in hospital, but it was a multi-agency problem and not just the responsibility of the health sector;
• the improvement of people’s homes was essential to keep people out of hospital;

• improving energy efficiency of homes would reduce poverty as well as reducing CO2;
• a One City Plan approach had been taken to the Fuel Poverty Action Plan with governance by the Health and Wellbeing Board and endorsement being support from the Environment Sustainability Board and Homes and Communities Board;
• the action plan had been delayed by COVID 19 and would now be completed in the autumn so it would be in place for winter;
• actions were both short term and longer term “Just energy transition” – needs to link to decarbonisation of heat plan;

• technology was constantly changing and so the plan needed to be updated accordingly;
• one of the joint projects – Warmer Homes Advice and Money (WHAM):
  • WHAM was a partnership between Bristol City Council and the Centre for Sustainable Energy; We Care; Talking Money; Citizens Advice and Bristol Energy Networks. 
  • WHAM gave people one point of contact for advice on reducing financial, food and fuel poverty;
  • There is an online referral form and Freephone number.

• discussion topics
  • work being undertaken by organisations;
    • new build work? Housing Associations?
    • does FP factor into any of the programs you are currently doing?
    • does FP factor into any of the decision making within your organisation?
    • were you aware of the government target of EPC C by 2030 for Fuel Poor Homes?
  • planned improvement works and Energy Efficiency
    • do you consider homeowners bills when planning energy efficiency or sustainable energy work?
  • support for employees and tenants
    • are you aware of support services for people in Fuel Poverty in Bristol?
    • what would be a useful resource?
• Ask of BHCB:
  • Provide information on any current actions your organisation is doing around fuel poverty/energy efficiency improvements;
  • Consider any actions your organisation could take to prevent or alleviate fuel poverty or ensure a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

1. Presentation by Andrew Linfoot, Environment Board
   
   

AS gave a presentation summarised as follows:

·         Vision statement  - by 2030 Bristol to be carbon neutral and climate resilient;

·         10 themes: transport; buildings – new buildings need to be of a good standard; heat decarbonisation; electricity; consumption and waste; business and the economy; public voluntary and social enterprise sectors; natural environment; food; infrastructure interdependencies

·         Principles: Fair; collaborative; transformative; learning; evidence based;

·                   The Ask – opening up the conversation:

·         an idea..?  COVID 19 Green economy recovery plan?

·         low Carbon Retrofit Economic recovery package;

·         green jobs from major retrofit programme of the existing social housing stock suiting a range of qualifications;

·         draw on technology and innovation;

·         relatively strong local ‘green building skills’, building services expertise and public energy advice services;

·         addressing fuel poverty goals in tandem with carbon neutral goals;

·         delivering health benefits through providing better environments;

·         leadership from public sector to demonstrate potential with exemplar retrofits and new build projects on own buildings (including housing) and to drive skills and quality improvements.

·         scalability and confidence for the private sector.

2. Matt Wood and David Tudgey – Bristol Advisory Committee on Climate Change (BACCC)
   
   MW and DT introduced themselves as members of BACCC, a voluntary group of 15-20 experts that provided technical advice on climate change to all of the Bristol One City Boards.  DT advised that in the context of a climate emergency, it was important to look at projects that could make a difference rather than waiting for changes in policy at the national or local level and drew attention to a project he had been involved in: https://cheeseproject.co.uk/news/2020-03-Costing-the-Earth

3. Presentation by Ian Barrett – Avon Wildlife Trust

IB gave a presentation on the building a response to the ecological emergency summarised as follows:

·         unprecedented ecological crisis – globally we are losing vast majority of wildlife;

·         this was replicated at the national level, decline in species e.g. hedgehogs and brown hare;

·         loss of insects which had an impact on the food chain;

·         change due to different things:

o   In UK – changes in land use and pollution due to use of fertilisers and pesticides;

o   In Bristol - people paving over front gardens;

·         why relevant?

o   Wildlife supports the whole eco system;

o   Pollination – ¾ of crops rely on insect pollination;

o   At major risk of losing species;

o   Climate change and ecological emergency were equally important and are linked;

o   Global economy depends on wildlife;

·         what need be done:

o   stop destruction of habitats;

o   protect existing habitats and link and enhance wildlife hotspots;

o   manage other land sympathetically for wildlife;

o   stop routine and unnecessary use of pesticides;

·         Mayor declared ecological emergency in February 2020;

·         targets of One City Plan:

o   everyone has access to good quality green space by 2036;

o   reverse decline in bees and pollinators by 2037;

o   double wildlife abundance by 2044

·         targets relevant for BHCB:

o   by 2036 all new developments to have the highest standards of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

There was no other business.

Thursday 8 October 2020

Thursday 14 January 2021

Thursday 18 March 2021

Thursday 8 October 2020

Thursday 14 January 2021

Thursday 18 March 2021