Manchester City Council has delivered precisely ZERO carbon literacy training in the month of January. On 3rd of January, the Executive Member for the Environment, Councillor Rosa Battle, told the ‘Neighbourhoods and Environment Scrutiny Committee’ that she would take personal responsibility for the roll-out of carbon literacy for councillors – a pre-2016 election commitment by the Labor Party. Leadership needed to be demonstrated, she told the people who are supposed to keep tabs on what the Council bosses get up to.
A Freedom of Information Act request for the period 30th December 2016 to 30th January 2017 revealed that there has been NO change in the carbon literacy status of a single councillor, nor any of the 11 members of the senior management team. That includes the online training component. No training sessions were scheduled and then cancelled. Councillor Battle has completed neither the online nor the face-to-face component of the training.
Now THAT, we can all agree, is a special kind of urgency, a special kind of leadership. A Freedom of Information Act covering the period 30th January to 23rth February has been submitted. Watch this space.
That FOIA answer in full –
1. A list of all Councillors whose status of carbon literacy training has changed between 30 December and 30th January 2017 and how it has changed.
No Councillors have seen a change in their carbon literacy status.
2. All members of the Senior Management Team and their carbon literacy status changes between 30th December 2016 and 30 January 2017.
No members of Senior Management Team have seen a change in their carbon literacy status.
3. The dates of all carbon literacy training sessions for Councillors that have taken place between 30 December 2016 and 30 January, including the names of attendees at each session.
No training sessions have taken place. The next planned session is with members of the Neighbourhoods and Environment Scrutiny Committee on 28th March 2017.
4. The dates of all carbon literacy training between 0 [sic – my bad!] December 2016 and 30 January 2017 that was scheduled but then cancelled, the reasons the sessions were cancelled and the amount of notice given to those people who had expressed an interest in attending.
No training sessions have been scheduled and then cancelled.
manchester climate monthly 
brilliant that you are doing this!
I was very impressed also by your (Marc Hudson) evidence to the Commons DCLG select committee on local authority scrutiny arrangements and effectiveness.
(http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/communities-and-local-government-committee/overview-and-scrutiny-in-local-government/written/48998.html)
My own council (Herefordshire) has a domineering Tory cabinet and alarmingly they have got officers to submit evidence to the select committee praising the scrutiny process, even singling out a dreadful decision to sell off the Council’s tenant farm state as their example of how scrutiny works well.
(http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/communities-and-local-government-committee/overview-and-scrutiny-in-local-government/written/48737.html)
All the best
Rob Palgrave
Hi Rob,
Wow. Not even Manchester Labour Party has the brass neck to praise its own scrutiny system (or does it?!)
All best
Marc Hudson