Manchester City Council set itself a public target last year of getting 60 of its 96 councillors to undertake “carbon literacy training.” The training involves an “on-line component, and a face-to-face session, and takes less than a day.

“23 councillors have completed on-line and face-to-face elements of carbon literacy training.”  In a long-overdue and only partial response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Council was also replied-

b) 1 councillor has completed on-line training.
c)  22 councillors have completed face to face training.
d) 50 councillors have not completed face-to-face or on-line training.

Yep, over half of Manchester’s councillors (all Labour) have not completed either training….

On 4th December 2014 MCFly requested not just numbers, but names of councillors in each category. This portion of the FoIA has been ignored.  This has been pointed out to the Council.

MCFly recently revealed that is Manchester Metropolitan University is being paid £12,960 “for Delivery of the Carbon Literacy training to MCC staff Phase 1b and Councillor training. “

It will be interesting to know if there are any performance criteria at all for that contract, and if penalty clauses for poor performance exist and are being invoked.

This comprehensive but sadly not unprecedented failure would also explain why the agreed report about the Carbon Literacy training’s successes and failures to January’s Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Committee did not happen. There ARE no successes…

MCFly says: The levels of incompetence are bewildering and revolting. There has been a complete and abject failure of political and bureaucratic leadership. In any functioning democracy, this would be front page news and a major scandal. In any functioning democracy…