Agenda and minutes
Environment Committee - Thursday 28 February 2019 10.00 am

To receive any apologies for absence and any announcements from the Chair.

1.1  Apologies for absence were received from Dr Onkar Sahota AM, for whom Len Duvall AM substituted.

1.2  During Item 7, the Chair welcomed students from New City College, Hackney, New VIc College, Newham, City & Islington College, Islington and Richmond upon Thames College, Richmond to the public gallery.

Report of the Executive Director of Secretariat

Contact:  Clare Bryant, [email protected], 020 7983 4616

The Committee is recommended to:

(a)  Note the list of offices held by Assembly Members, as set out in the table at Agenda Item 2, as disclosable pecuniary interests;

(b)  Note the declaration by any Member(s) of any disclosable pecuniary interests in specific items listed on the agenda and the necessary action taken by the Member(s) regarding withdrawal following such declaration(s); and

(c)  Note the declaration by any Member(s) of any other interests deemed to be relevant (including any interests arising from gifts and hospitality received which are not at the time of the meeting reflected on the Authority’s register of gifts and hospitality, and noting also the advice from the GLA’s Monitoring Officer set out at Agenda Item 2) and to note any necessary action taken by the Member(s) following such declaration(s).

2.1  The Committee received the report of the Executive Director of Secretariat.

2.2  Resolved:

That the list of offices held by Assembly Members, as set out in the table at Agenda Item 2, be noted as disclosable pecuniary interests.

The Committee is recommended to confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 16 January 2019 to be signed by the Chair as a correct record.

3.1  Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 16 January 2019 be signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Report of the Executive Director of Secretariat

Contact:  Clare Bryant, [email protected], 020 7983 4616

The Committee is recommended to note the completed and outstanding actions arising from its previous meetings.

4.1  The Committee received the report of the Executive Director of Secretariat.

4.2  Resolved:

That the completed and outstanding actions arising from previous meetings of the Committee be noted.

Report of the Executive Director of Secretariat

Contact:  Clare Bryant, [email protected], 020 7983 4616

The Committee is recommended to note the recent action taken by the Chair under delegated authority, namely to agree, in consultation with party Group Lead Members:

a)  An output for the 8 November 2018 meeting’s discussion on aviation;

b)  A response to the Government’s consultation on proposals to ban the distribution and/or sale of plastic straws, plastic - stemmed cotton buds and plastic drink stirrers in England;

c)  An output from the 20 September 2018 meeting’s discussion on embodied carbon in buildings; and

d)  An output from the 16 January 2019 meeting’s discussion on air pollution in London.

5.1  The Committee received the report of the Executive Director of Secretariat.

5.2  Resolved:

That the following recent action taken by the Chair under delegated authority, in consultation with party Group Lead Members, be noted:

(a)   An output for the 8 November 2018 meeting’s discussion on aviation;

(b)   A response to the Government’s consultation on proposals to ban the distribution and/or sale of plastic straws,   plastic-stemmed cotton buds and plastic drink stirrers in England;

(c)   An output from the 20 September 2018 meeting’s discussion on embodied carbon in buildings; and

(d)   An output from the16 January 2019 meeting’s discussion on air pollution in London.

Report of the Executive Director of Secretariat

Contact: Ian Williamson, [email protected]; 020 7983 6541

The Committee is recommended to:

(a)  Note the Mayor’s response to the Committee’s letter on plastic waste attached as Appendix 1 of the report; and

(b)  Note the Report Impact Review for the Committee’s report,Single-use plastic: unflushables and the Impact Review of the Committee’s response to the draft London Food Strategy attached as Appendices 2 and 3 of the report.

6.1  The Committee received the report of the Executive Director of Secretariat.

6.2  Resolved:

(a)  That the Mayoral response to the Committee’s letter on plastic waste be noted;

(b)  That the Report Impact Review on the Committee’s report, Single-use plastic: unflushables, be noted; and

(c)  That the Impact Review for the Committee’s response to the draft London Food Strategy be noted.

Report of the Executive Director of Secretariat

Contact: Ian Williamson, [email protected]; 020 7983 6541

The Committee is recommended to:

(a)  Note the report as background to putting questions to the Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy on Mayoral progress and notes the subsequent discussion; and

(b)  Delegate authority to the Chair, in consultation with party Group Lead Members, to agree any output arising from the discussion.

7.1  The Committee received the report of the Executive Director of Secretariat as background to putting questions to the Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy.

7.2  The following officers from the Greater London Authority were also in attendance for this meeting:

·  Andrew Dunwoody, Policy and Programme Manager – Waste and the Green Economy;

·  Elliot Treharne, Head of Air Quality;

·  Andrew Jones, Policy and Programme Manager – Green Infrastructure; and

·  Claire Jaimeson, Principal Policy and Programme Officer - Zero Carbon Policy Team.

7.3  A transcript of the discussion is attached at Appendix 1.

7.4  During the course of the discussion, Members requested the following additional information:

·  An update on improvements that have been made to borough’s recycling performances and trends through joining sub regional Waste Partnerships, including which boroughs have jointed;

·  What level of the six dry recyclables are being collected on a borough by borough basis;

·  Where the artistically decorated textile installations have been put up as part of the Love not Landfill campaign;

·  An update on the trial for private rented sector properties to access funding to make energy efficiency savings, including how many private rented sector properties took part and how it will work;

·  The timescales for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Report of the Executive Director of Secretariat

Contact: Ian Williamson, [email protected]; 020 7983 6541

The Committee is recommended to:

(a)  Consider how it will take forward the Assembly’s opposition to the expansion of Heathrow airport, noting the Committee’s previous work on aviation;

(b)  Note its previously agreed work programme for the 2018/19 Assembly year, as set out in the report;

(c)  Note the schedule of its provisional meetings for 2019/20, which is subject to agreement at the Annual Meeting of the London Assembly on 2 May 2019; and

(d)  Delegate authority to the Chair, in consultation with the party Group Lead Members, to agree any scrutiny arrangements and outputs before the first formal meeting of the Committee of the 2019/20 Assembly year.

8.1  The Committee received the report of the Executive Director of Secretariat.

8.2  Resolved:

(a)  That the Committee’s previous work on the expansion of Heathrow airport be noted.

(b)  That the work programme for the 2018/19 Assembly year and the schedule of provisional meetings for the 2019/20 Assembly year be noted.

(c)  That authority be delegated to the Chair, in consultation with party Group Lead Members, to agree any scrutiny arrangements and outputs before the first formal meeting of the 2019/20 Assembly year.

The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled for 3 April 2019 at 2.30pm in Committee Room 2, City Hall.

9.1  The next meeting of the Committee was scheduled for 22 May 2019 at 10.00am in Committee Room 5, City Hall, subject to agreement at the Annual Meeting of the London Assembly on 2 May 2019.

10.1  There were no items of business that the Chair considered to be urgent.

11.1  The meeting ended at 12.45 pm.