THE LOCAL Government Association (LGA) is running a webinar to help councils manage climate change next week.
Working with the Centre for Public Scrutiny, the LGA has published a guide to help councils play a leading role in tackling the climate crisis at a local level.
The resource includes 10 scrutiny questions and hopes to provoke environmental, social and cultural changes, including investment strategies and transport plans.
The LGA said that the questions are designed to invite further questions from council officers and members to understand local needs, including how councils will be adapting their climate change action plans in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It said scrutiny can hold councils accountable on their public commitments to climate action.
The webinar session will run on Friday, September 18.
It will outline a practical approach for scrutineers to understand and seek oversight on climate action in their area.
Cllr Liz Green, vice chair of the Local Government Association’s Improvement and Innovation Board, said: “Climate change and the challenges it brings have been thrown into sharper focus during the coronavirus pandemic, demonstrating the need for places and communities to become more resilient.
“The impact of climate change cuts across all communities, council departments and functions, and our guide will help leaders to continue to deliver effective responses through scrutinising and testing climate action plans.
“We hope that our report will help councils to explore questioning, identify key stakeholders, plan effective scrutiny work and consider the impacts that scrutiny can play in terms of delivering on climate issues.”
There will be two sessions, in the morning and afternoon. Attendees are encouraged to sign up to both.
To sign up for the morning session, visit: lgaevents.local.gov.uk/lga/962/home and for the afternoon session, visit: lgaevents.local.gov.uk/lga/963/home