Council staff working on climate action
Dear Gloucestershire County Council,
Please treat this as a Freedom of Information/Environmental Information Regulations request.
I would like information about your council’s staff positions in relation to climate action for the Council Climate Action Scorecards. This information is most likely to be held by a HR department or similar.
In particular, please supply me with information relating to the following questions:
1a. How many staff does the Council directly employ (excluding contractors or subcontractors, and excluding teachers), that work directly for the Council as opposed to a school, leisure centres or other venture?
1b. How many directly employed staff spend 3 or more days per week (0.6 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)) on implementing the Climate Action Plan or other climate change projects? Please provide a list of all the roles. Please exclude waste management staff unless they are specifically working 3 or more days per week on implementing the Climate Action Plan or other climate change projects.
If you have answered yes to have a biodiversity planning officer and/or a retrofit staff member below, both these staff members can be included in this question even if they are contracted. This is likely to include all staff in your climate/sustainability team, such as Climate Change Officers or similar. This may include full time staff who spend 60% of their time on climate change projects and 40% of their time on other work.
You might include other staff in other departments, such as a procurement officer if they are spending 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE) on writing and implementing a sustainable procurement policy or a planner that is working primarily on low carbon policies for new buildings.
2. Does the council have one or more staff member who works on home energy efficiency retrofitting, such as retrofit officers or project managers across the council area, for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE)? This can include both directly employed and contracted staff, provided they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE). The work of this officer may include working on any retrofit projects, including council buildings, council homes or private rented or owned households.
Please list any roles that work in this area, including the full time equivalent (FTE) if they work part time.
Please include staff members that are shared with other councils, such as between county and district councils, and note if they are shared across other areas.
3. How many planning ecologists (ecologists within the planning department) or equivalent working for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE) does the council employ to scrutinise planning reports for Biodiversity Net Gain? This can include both directly employed and contracted staff, provided they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE).
I look forward to hearing from you in due course.
Yours faithfully,
Hannah Jewell, Climate Emergency UK
Dear Gloucestershire County Council,
I would like to formally withdraw this request, as I submitted it in duplicate and this request includes a question that is not relevant to county councils. My apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Yours faithfully,
Hannah Jewell, Climate Emergency UK
Good afternoon Hannah,
Thank you for your recent email.
As per our acknowledgement email sent 20/01/2023, the seven requests we
received from yourself were combined under request 27732824. Could you
please confirm if you are withdrawing this combined request by replying to
this email.
I have included the summary of questions below, for your reference.
Request:
1) Does the council have a 100% renewable green electricity tariff for all
of the electricity that the council is directly responsible for, and is
this tariff with Green Energy UK plc, Good Energy Limited or Ecotricity?
2) Does the council generate and use energy from waste? And if so, what
percentage of the council's total electricity use is powered by these
energy from waste electricity sources?
3) Does the council buy directly from a local renewable electricity source
or have its own renewable electricity sources? And if so, what percentage
of the council's total electricity use is powered by this/these renewable
electricity sources?
4a) How many staff does the Council directly employ (excluding contractors
or subcontractors, and excluding teachers), that work directly for the
Council as opposed to a school, leisure centres or other venture?
4b) How many directly employed staff spend 3 or more days per week (0.6
Full Time Equivalent (FTE)) on implementing the Climate Action Plan or
other climate change projects? Please provide a list of all the roles.
Please exclude waste management staff unless they are specifically working
3 or more days per week on implementing the Climate Action Plan or other
climate change projects.
5) Does the council have one or more staff member who works on home energy
efficiency retrofitting, such as retrofit officers or project managers
across the council area, for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE)?
6) Has the Council approved any new *1 or expanded *2 roads or road
junctions in its area from 1st January 2019 until 1st January 2023? Please
list which ones were accepted.
*1 The intention of this question is to understand overall increases in
road capacity, rather than recent housing developments. Please exclude
minor roads built exclusively to connect new housing to the pre-existing
road network.
*2 An expanded road or road junction is one that has increased capacity
for motor vehicle traffic, not counting bus lanes, cycle infrastructure,
or pedestrian infrastructure. Please include roads and junctions where new
lanes have been added.
7) Has the Council approved any planning applications for fossil fuel
extraction projects proposed in its area since 1st January 2019 until 1st
January 2023? Please list which ones were accepted, including where
relevant fossil fuel projects that were later 'called in' by central
government.
8) Have all senior management received carbon literacy training or
equivalent since 1st January 2019? Please state the type of training.
9) Have all current councillors in the cabinet or committee chairs
received carbon literacy training or equivalent since being elected?
Please state the type of training.
10) Has the council written to or met with UK national or devolved
governments to ask or lobby for climate action since 1st January 2019?
Please provide some evidence of the most recent letter or meeting such as
a copy of the letter or email sent, or the date, topic of meeting and
position of the person that the meeting was held with.
11) How many staff does the Council directly employ (excluding contractors
or subcontractors, and excluding teachers), that work directly for the
Council as opposed to a school, leisure centres or other venture?
12) Does the council have one or more staff member who works on home
energy efficiency retrofitting, such as retrofit officers or project
managers across the council area, for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE)?
This can include both directly employed and contracted staff, provided
they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE). The work of this officer may
include working on any retrofit projects, including council buildings,
council homes or private rented or owned households.
13) . How many planning ecologists (ecologists within the planning
department) or equivalent working for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE)
does the council employ to scrutinise planning reports for Biodiversity
Net Gain? This can include both directly employed and contracted staff,
provided they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE).
14) Has the council approved any new or expanded airport runways,
terminals, measures to increase passenger numbers or other planning
proposals that expand airport capacity in its area since 1st January 2019
until 1st January 2023? Please list the accepted planning proposals
With kind regards,
Carly Doyle
Information Requests Officer | BCS FOI Practitioner
Information Management Service
01452 324000
[1][email address]
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Gloucestershire County Council,
I would like to formally withdraw this request, as I submitted it in
duplicate and this request includes a question that is not relevant to
county councils. My apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Yours faithfully,
Hannah Jewell, Climate Emergency UK
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #937997 email]
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Good afternoon Hannah,
Thank you for your recent emails, regarding your request(s).
We received an email from yourself on 03 February asking for the case to
be withdrawn. As advised in our emails sent on 20 January 2023, all seven
email requests received from yourself were consolidated into one case,
reference 27732824, under Section 14(2) of the Freedom of Information Act.
This was due to the requests being reviewed and subsequently determined to
substantially similar.
Following receipt of your email, requesting that the case was to be
withdrawn, I replied asking for confirmation if you were requesting that
all questions were to be withdrawn, or if there was information that you
still required. I have enclosed this email below.
Could you please reply, confirming the information that you are
requesting. I will then be able to progress this case accordingly.
With kind regards,
Carly Doyle
Information Requests Officer | BCS FOI Practitioner
Information Management Service
01452 324000
[email address]
* Email below sent 08 February 2023
Good afternoon Hannah,
Thank you for your recent email.
As per our acknowledgement email sent 20/01/2023, the seven requests we
received from yourself were combined under request 27732824. Could you
please confirm if you are withdrawing this combined request by replying to
this email.
I have included the summary of questions below, for your reference.
Request:
1) Does the council have a 100% renewable green electricity tariff for all
of the electricity that the council is directly responsible for, and is
this tariff with Green Energy UK plc, Good Energy Limited or Ecotricity?
2) Does the council generate and use energy from waste? And if so, what
percentage of the council's total electricity use is powered by these
energy from waste electricity sources?
3) Does the council buy directly from a local renewable electricity source
or have its own renewable electricity sources? And if so, what percentage
of the council's total electricity use is powered by this/these renewable
electricity sources?
4a) How many staff does the Council directly employ (excluding contractors
or subcontractors, and excluding teachers), that work directly for the
Council as opposed to a school, leisure centres or other venture?
4b) How many directly employed staff spend 3 or more days per week (0.6
Full Time Equivalent (FTE)) on implementing the Climate Action Plan or
other climate change projects? Please provide a list of all the roles.
Please exclude waste management staff unless they are specifically working
3 or more days per week on implementing the Climate Action Plan or other
climate change projects.
5) Does the council have one or more staff member who works on home energy
efficiency retrofitting, such as retrofit officers or project managers
across the council area, for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE)?
6) Has the Council approved any new *1 or expanded *2 roads or road
junctions in its area from 1st January 2019 until 1st January 2023? Please
list which ones were accepted.
*1 The intention of this question is to understand overall increases in
road capacity, rather than recent housing developments. Please exclude
minor roads built exclusively to connect new housing to the pre-existing
road network.
*2 An expanded road or road junction is one that has increased capacity
for motor vehicle traffic, not counting bus lanes, cycle infrastructure,
or pedestrian infrastructure. Please include roads and junctions where new
lanes have been added.
7) Has the Council approved any planning applications for fossil fuel
extraction projects proposed in its area since 1st January 2019 until 1st
January 2023? Please list which ones were accepted, including where
relevant fossil fuel projects that were later 'called in' by central
government.
8) Have all senior management received carbon literacy training or
equivalent since 1st January 2019? Please state the type of training.
9) Have all current councillors in the cabinet or committee chairs
received carbon literacy training or equivalent since being elected?
Please state the type of training.
10) Has the council written to or met with UK national or devolved
governments to ask or lobby for climate action since 1st January 2019?
Please provide some evidence of the most recent letter or meeting such as
a copy of the letter or email sent, or the date, topic of meeting and
position of the person that the meeting was held with.
11) How many staff does the Council directly employ (excluding contractors
or subcontractors, and excluding teachers), that work directly for the
Council as opposed to a school, leisure centres or other venture?
12) Does the council have one or more staff member who works on home
energy efficiency retrofitting, such as retrofit officers or project
managers across the council area, for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE)?
This can include both directly employed and contracted staff, provided
they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE). The work of this officer may
include working on any retrofit projects, including council buildings,
council homes or private rented or owned households.
13) . How many planning ecologists (ecologists within the planning
department) or equivalent working for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE)
does the council employ to scrutinise planning reports for Biodiversity
Net Gain? This can include both directly employed and contracted staff,
provided they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE).
14) Has the council approved any new or expanded airport runways,
terminals, measures to increase passenger numbers or other planning
proposals that expand airport capacity in its area since 1st January 2019
until 1st January 2023? Please list the accepted planning proposals
With kind regards,
Carly Doyle
Information Requests Officer | BCS FOI Practitioner
Information Management Service
01452 324000
[1][email address]
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Gloucestershire County Council,
I would like to formally withdraw this request, as I submitted it in
duplicate and this request includes a question that is not relevant to
county councils. My apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Yours faithfully,
Hannah Jewell, Climate Emergency UK
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #937997 email]
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...
For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
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