Council staff working on climate action
Climate Emergency UK made this Freedom of Information request to North Lanarkshire Council as part of a batch sent to 32 authorities This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Dear North Lanarkshire 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 Sir/madam
I acknowledge receipt of your request which is receiving attention.
I shall contact you again when I am in a position to respond more fully to your request.
Yours sincerely
Angelene Kirkpatrick
For Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
North Lanarkshire Council
Civic Centre
Windmillhill Street
Motherwell
ML1 1AB
Working from home
Please contact via email
Dear Sir / Madam
Request for Information
I refer again to your e-mail of 16 January 2023 seeking information in
relation to Council staff working on climate action.
Having regard to the nature of your request it appears to me it is
governed by the provisions of the Environmental Information (Scotland)
Regulations 2004 rather than the Freedom of Information legislation and it
is in terms of these Regulations that my response is made.
Returning to your request and having investigated, my response to your
four enquiries is as follows:-
(1)
(a) The following table sets out the number of staff employed directly
by North Lanarkshire Council.
(b) Please find below information on the number of staff employed who
spend three or more days per week on implementing the Climate Action Plan or
other climate change projects.
1 FTE Lead Officer for Climate Change.
3 FTE BEMs Technician and Energy Management Officer.
1 FTE Bio-Diversity and Conservation Manager.
1 FTE Bio-Diversity Officer.
1 FTE Forestry and Woodland Manager.
(2) Please find below information on staff who work on home energy
efficiency retrofitting or project managers for three or more days per week.
Resource Number of Officers
Project Managers 2
Project Co-ordinator 1
Project Assistant 1
Contract Administrator 4
Programme Liaison Officer 1
Quantity Surveyor 1
Clerk of Works 2
(3) There are no ecologists employed in the Planning Service to review
reports for bio-diversity net gain. Planning consult the Green Space section on
proposals whether this may be an issue.
I can advise that North Lanarkshire Council, having regard to the
provisions of Regulation 16 of the Environmental Information (Scotland)
Regulations 2004, has established a procedure whereby any person who has
requested information in terms of those Regulations, may make
representations if it appears to the applicant that the authority has not
complied with any requirements of the Regulations in relation to the
applicant’s request. Any such representations require to be made in
writing and received by the Council not later than 40 working days after
either the date that the applicant receives any decision or notification
which the applicant believes does not comply with these Regulations or the
date by which such a decision or notification should have been made, or
any other action should be taken by the authority, but was not made or
taken. Any such representations should be addressed to the Chief Officer
of Legal and Democratic, Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell,
ML1 1AB. Accordingly, if you wish to seek a review, please write to the
Chief Officer of Legal and Democratic.
I would advise, also, that in terms of Regulation 17 of the Environmental
Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, a person who is dissatisfied with
a notice given by the local authority under Regulation 16(4) of the
Regulations - ie. a notice following a review of a decision by a local
authority, or by the failure of a local authority to give such a notice -
may make application to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a
decision as to whether, in any respect specified in that application, the
request for information to which the requirement relates has been dealt
with in accordance with the Regulations. Such an application must be made
within six months of the review decision and be in writing or in another
form which, by reason of it having some permanency is capable of being
used for subsequent reference. The application must state the name of the
applicant and provide an address for correspondence. The application must
also specify the request for information to which the requirement for
review relates, the matter which gave rise to the applicant’s
dissatisfaction with the original decision of the local authority and the
matter which gives rise to the applicant’s dissatisfaction with the
decision on review by the local authority or the failure of the local
authority to issue such a decision. The Scottish Information Commissioner
can be contacted as follows:-
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St. Andrews
KY16 9DS
email: [1][email address]
Appeals to the Scottish Information Commissioner can also be made online
via the following link: -
[2]www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal
I hope this information is sufficient for your purpose. If, however, you
require further information – or I can assist in any other way – please
let me know.
Yours faithfully
Neil McKay
Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
North Lanarkshire Council
Democratic and Legal Services
Please contact by email
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