Agenda item

The Committee will consider an update on resident engagement results.

The Committee considered an update on resident engagement results. The Assistant Director for Policy and Strategy and the Head of Carbon Reduction were in attendance to present the report and respond to questions.

Key points raised during the presentation of the report included:

·        Females were less likely than males to cycle, but they did want better access to sustainable travel and public transport infrastructure.

·        Males were less likely to have undertaken work-related training in the last 5 years, which had implications for the upskilling needed to create green jobs.

·        For young people, cost was a significant barrier to action on climate change, however they did use cars for less than 1/5 of their journeys.

·        Older people largely cited a lack of information as a barrier to action, but did report that they had attempted to reduce personal vehicle usage in the last 12 months.

Comments/questions from members and responses from officers included:

·        25% of under 40s likely reported that they were planning on driving more in future because they had not yet passed their test or did not currently own a car and were planning to acquire one.

·        There were 1,200 responses in a city of 200,000 people, of which 47% of respondents were over 60 compared to roughly 1/3 in the overall population, which highlighted the need to develop new ways of reaching people in order to collect more representative data.

·        Members felt that the contributions of younger people showed a larger engagement with and understanding of climate change, and so felt it was very important to further engage with this demographic in order to hear to understand their thoughts.

-      Officers responded that the survey was intended as a base layer to understand broad opinions in the city, which was to be used to refine questioning and demographic targeting during the stage 3 engagement. It was noted that broad participation in consultations and public engagement was an ongoing challenge for all areas of council work, not just climate change.

·        Members noted with concern the statistics on optimism for career prospects, especially in younger sections of the population: 49% of people under 40 disagreed that they felt optimistic, arguing that to ensure a just transition to a green economy, more education around upskilling and opportunities for green jobs was needed.

-      Officers responded that the events of the past two years including the Covid-19 pandemic, furlough and job losses was likely having a negative effect on people’s optimism. Officers hoped that members’ concerns would be partly addressed through the devolution deal and Economic Strategy, and suggested that the Head of Economic Growth attend a future meeting of the Committee to discuss the Economic Strategy.

·        Members spoke on bus services in the city, noting positive work done to reduce their emissions through use of electric vehicles etc., however they emphasised that it was most important for buses to reduce overall vehicle numbers in the city as the only alternative to private vehicles for residents.

·        It was noted that although York performed well regionally in terms of public transport usage, it did not compare to places such as Stockholm and Vienna, and members spoke on the opportunity that stage 3 of the consultation provided to move the conversation past damage limitation and towards more radical solutions to the problem of public transport, e.g. a light rail transit system.

·        Members requested clarification on the membership of the Climate Change Commission, to which officers responded that public, private and third sector organisations from across the city were represented, including the three largest single source emitters in the city and large employers such as Nestle, the hospital, University of York, the Chamber of Commerce and others. Officers confirmed that there was no trade union representation, and noted that should it be decided that trade unions ought to have a seat on the Commission, it would be best for a single representative to speak on behalf of all trade unions, likely from the Trades Union Congress.

The Director for Transport, Environment and Planning and the Sustainable Transport Manager also gave an update on the Local Transport Plan.

Resolved:

i.             That the contents of the update be noted.

Reason: To enable the Committee to remain updated on resident engagement.