Council Policy

Our climate change policy thematic group is made up of senior officers across the council and is chaired by the policy service director.

The group works closely with the climate change team to ensure carbon reduction is built into all new policy development. The group provides support and advice, with sign-off and agreement continuing through the established governance. For example, executive team, cabinet, council and other relevant committees.

All policies and projects brought to cabinet and/or full council meetings are required to complete a carbon impact assessment.

This assessment ensures that all new policy developments are reviewed against climate and carbon impacts. The assessment will produce a subjective score based on the responses.  

The climate change policy thematic group will have oversight of the carbon impact assessment score prior to it being considered at cabinet and/or full council. 

There will be an opportunity for council officers to discuss the assessment with the thematic group and receive recommendations on how to improve the score. Where possible proposals will also include an estimated carbon emissions figure. For example, capital projects. 

The final carbon impact assessment score is a key part of the decision-making process and results will be included in all cabinet and/or full council published meeting minutes. 

A CSR policy has been developed by the council’s procurement department which aims to minimise or eliminate carbon emissions, waste and other negative environmental impacts within the council’s commissioned services and wider supply chain.

The policy includes six strategic pillars for mandatory consideration at the early stages of every procurement and commission of external goods, works and services: 

• Reduce waste 
• Improve social value 
• Improve health & wellbeing 
• Reduce CO2 & greenhouse emissions  
• Combat modern slavery  
• Increase use of SME and local suppliers  

Some wider supply chain issues are outside council control, but we have an ethical and moral responsibility to reduce global emissions and environmental degradation in any way that we can. 

The Carbon Literacy Trust, funded by BEIS and in partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, has developed a ‘Local Authority Carbon Literacy Toolkit’ and we have introduced this training toolkit for our staff.

The training includes education around scientific causes and impacts of climate change on a global, national and local level and explores the potential solutions and mitigations. 

Course participants are required to develop a climate-positive action plan, both as a team and then as individuals, within their own departments. 

The Northumberland Local Plan is the statutory development plan for the county. It provides a modern, up-to-date basis for making decisions on the thousands of applications submitted to the council each year.

The plan takes a proactive approach to: 

• Mitigating and adapting to climate change 
• Considering the long-term implications for flood risk 
• Coastal change 
• Water supply 
• Biodiversity and landscapes 
• Risk of overheating from rising temperatures.  

There are several policies in the plan supporting the future resilience of communities and infrastructure to climate change impacts.  

For more information go to the Northumberland Local Plan 2016-2036 page.

We continue to work with our neighbouring authorities and have partnerships with the North of Tyne Combined Authority, the Borderlands Partnership and Transport North East so that we can contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions at a regional level and share best practice.

Through working closely with our Town and Parish Councils, we have been able to create the ‘Northumberland Town and Parish Council Climate Change Toolkit’ which will enable the creation of localised Climate Change Action Plans at ward level.