Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for the Environment, on over £30k a year, is STILL not trying to rally Manchester to cope with climate change. This despite a basic admission that the “carbon budget” launched with great fanfare and self-congratulation in late 2018 is blown to hell.

Last December a Freedom-of-Information-request-based blog post revealed that Council environment “leader” holds takes no emergency action on carbon budget blow out.

Well, eight months on, exactly the same questions have been asked again. The answers have been received just now. And they are exactly the same.

Has she held any emergency summits with fellow Executive Members and/or members of the Council’s SMT? If so, on what dates, who attended, what were the outcomes. If not, why not, and are any planned?

Response: There are no records of meetings entitled ’emergency summits’ held with fellow Executive Members and/or members of the Council’s SMT. None are currently planned.

Has she held any emergency summits with businesses leaders? If so, on what dates, who attended, what were the outcomes? If not, why not, and are any planned?

Response: There are no records of the Executive Member for the Environment holding meetings entitled ’emergency summits’ held with business leaders. None are currently planned.

Has she held any emergency summits with faith leaders? If so, on what dates, who attended, what were the outcomes? If not, why not, and are any planned?

Response: There are no records of the Executive Member for the Environment holding meetings entitled ’emergency summits’ held with faith leaders. None are currently planned.

Has she held any emergency summits with community leaders? If so, on what dates, who attended, what were the outcomes? If not, why not, and are any planned?

Response: There are no records of the Executive Member for the Environment holding meetings entitled ’emergency summits’ held with community leaders. None are currently planned.

Has she held any emergency summits with members of the Climate Change “Partnership” under the banner of the Partnership. If so, on what dates, who attended, what were the outcomes. If not, why not, and are any planned?

Response: There are no records of the Executive member the Executive Member for the Environment holding meetings entitled ’emergency summits’ held with members of the Climate Change “Partnership” under the banner of the Partnership. None are currently planned.

Has she asked the Partnership to display the existence of climate change and the need to take urgent local action on their websites? If so, when did she ask this and what were the replies. If not, why not, and does she ever intend to do so.

Response: There are no records of the Executive Member for the Environment asking the Partnership to display the existence of climate change and the need to take urgent local action on their websites.

So there are further questions, which aren’t – sadly – FOIA-able. These include

• why on earth did this person TAKE the job if she isn’t going to DO anything?
• why do the few Labour councillors who actually give a shit about the future of the city not get up on their hindlegs? (that one is easy, tbh – to send a message to your hindlegs you need a spine…)
• why is “civil society” in Manchester not up on its hindlegs about this (also easy to answer, tbf)
• will anything change (“no”)