MD2140 London Environment Strategy

Changes made by the Localism Act 2011 brought in a requirement for the following original six separate environmental strategies to be brought together into a single London Environment Strategy (“LES”) under section 351A of the GLA Act.

• Biodiversity (a strategy last published and revised 2002)

• municipal waste management (a strategy last published and revised 2011)

• climate change mitigation and energy (a strategy last published and revised 2011)

• adaptation to climate change (a strategy last published and revised 2011)

• air quality (a strategy last published and revised as the Mayor’s Air Quality Strategy (MAQS) in 2010) and

• ambient noise (a strategy last published and revised 2004).

The GLA Act includes a provision “The Strategy may also include provisions dealing with the Mayor's policies and proposals in relation to any other matter relating to the environment in Greater London.” This has been interpreted as allowing the Mayor to include in the strategy additional policies and proposals relating to any matter he considers of importance and relevance to London’s environment. An example of this includes waste that is collected and disposed by commercial waste operators which would be generally excluded from ‘municipal waste management’. Municipal waste management is the collection, treatment or disposal of household waste or business waste that is similar in composition to household waste.

The strategy must contain a general assessment of the environment in Greater London so far as relevant to the functions of the GLA or the Mayor. This is summarised in the draft strategy and is available in annex 1. This document presents a series of indicators to illustrate the current situation and expected future changes in London’s environment within six chapters. Each chapter introduces the theme and identifies the indicators best suited for this theme. The document looks at the current state of London’s environment and highlights the improvements that have been made in the last few years.

The Mayor is asked to approve the text of the draft LES for publication for public and stakeholder consultation, which will take place between 11 August 2017 and 17 November 2017 (14 weeks).

Two draft action plans - which do not form part of the LES itself - but which explain how the Mayor will deliver relevant aspects of the Strategy are relevant and published alongside the Consultation Draft for feedback. Both of the action plans are Mayoral commitments and provide details on how the Mayor will take forward work on increasing solar energy in London and tackling fuel poverty.

The Mayor is required to produce eight integrated and consistent strategies which need to be kept up to date and regularly reviewed.

• London Environment Strategy

• London Plan (Spatial Development Strategy)

• Mayor’s Transport Strategy

• Economic Development Strategy

• Housing Strategy

• Culture Strategy

• Health Inequalities Strategy

• Policing and Crime Plan

As part of the preparation of the LES, under both European and national legislation, the Mayor is required to undertake a number of Impact Assessments to review policy options and assess the impact of proposed strategies. Previously these assessments were independent of one another, which led to duplication of efforts and a lack of ‘coherent thinking’ around the mayoral strategies. More recently an Integrated Impact Assessment process has been proposed that combines these assessments and enables all of the mayoral strategies to work from the same baseline information.

The IIA report will be published alongside the draft consultation LES. Once the LES is finalised then a post-adoption IIA statement will be produced identifying how the IIA process has influenced the policies and proposals in the final LES.

In preparing and publishing his strategies the Mayor must comply with the public sector equality duty under s 149 of the Equalities Act 2010. He must have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation as well as to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. This may involve, in particular, removing or minimising any disadvantage suffered by those who share a relevant protected characteristic, taking steps to meet the needs of such people; and encouraging them to participate in public life or in any other activity where their participation is disproportionately low, including tackling prejudice and promoting understanding. The protected characteristics and groups are: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, gender, religion or belief, sexual orientation and marriage/ civil partnership status. Compliance with the Act may involve treating people with a protected characteristic more favourably than those without the characteristic. The IIA will assess the likely equalities impacts of the Consultation Draft LES.

There are no are no direct financial implications for the GLA arising from this proposal.

The Environment Team within the GLA’s Development, Enterprise & Environment Directorate will be responsible for the draft strategy.

As mentioned above, s 351A of the GLA Act requires the Mayor to prepare and publish the LES. Part IX of the Act sets out the individual requirements that the provisions of the Strategy dealing with its different subject areas. The LES a plan or programme covered by Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004. The IIA undertaken in relation to the Consultation Draft LES conforms to the requirements of an environmental report under those Regulations. Under both the GLA Act and the Regulations the Consultation Draft and environmental report (included in the IIA) will be subject to public and stakeholder consultation. Officers will prepare a report on the consultation and make recommendations to the Mayor in due course.

The two draft actions plans dealing with fuel poverty and solar support the policies and proposals in the Consultation Draft LES published alongside it although these do not form part of the consultation draft of the strategy.