Dear Councillor Derbyshire,

I am writing to you in your capacity as the chair of the Greater Manchester Low Carbon Hub.

I hope the event on Saturday morning that Friends of the Earth has organised goes well. Sadly I cannot attend so am emailing you the following question rather than asking it in person.

As you may be aware, the Low Carbon Hub used to be known as the “Environment Commission”, and was chaired by an earlier leader of Stockport Council. Its meetings were open to the public.

When it transmogrified into the “Low Carbon Hub”, and was chaired by Richard Leese, the meetings were no longer open to the public. No explanation or justification was given.

I was delighted to see that the interim mayor of Greater Manchester, Tony Lloyd, recently participated in a pledge about climate change.

“Through the Compact, we are strengthening our pledge to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions, create ambitious climate targets, track progress and enhance Greater Manchester’s climate resilience. With consistent, public reporting of our city’s climate data, we will show how our actions can effect real change.”
[Source]

Does this commitment to “consistent, public reporting” extend to returning the Low Carbon Hub to its earlier status of a meeting which citizens of Manchester can attend? If not, why not.

Thank you

Marc Hudson

[address supplied]