EIR - Climate Change [Oct 2024]

Request: 

1a. Does the combined authority have a 100% renewable green electricity tariff for all of the electricity that the combined authority is directly responsible for, and is this tariff with Green Energy UK plc, Good Energy Limited or Ecotricity?

1b. Does the combined authority generate and use energy from waste? And if so, what percentage of the combined authority’s total electricity use is powered by this/these energy from waste electricity sources?



1c. Does the combined authority buy directly from a local renewable electricity source or have its own renewable electricity sources? And if so, what percentage of the combined authority's total electricity use is powered by this/these renewable electricity sources?

 

2a. How many staff does the authority directly employ (excluding contractors or subcontractors, and excluding teachers), that work directly for the authority?

2b. How many directly employed staff spend 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE) on implementing the Climate Action Plan or other climate change projects? Please provide a list of all the roles.

 

3a. Have all senior management received climate awareness, including Carbon Literacy or equivalent training, before 15th August 2024? Please state the type of training.

3b. Have all current councillors who sit on the combined authority executive received climate awareness, including Carbon Literacy or equivalent training, since being elected from May 2023 or before? Please state the type of training.

 

4. Has the combined authority written to or met with UK national or devolved governments to ask or lobby for climate action since 1st January 2023?

 

5a. Does the council have any policies, procedures or agreements in place that enable employee representative bodies to influence the development and delivery of the council’s Climate Action Plan? If so, please share details of these policies, procedures or agreements.

5b. Have employee representative bodies contributed to any recent consultations related to the delivery of the council’s Climate Action Plan? If so, could you please share any relevant document, dated from 1 January 2023, including:

a) Meeting minutes; b) Reports; c) Invitations to events; d) Other relevant documents

 

6a. How many green skills adult education courses have been provided by the Combined Authority, and;



6b. How many people have been trained on the above green skills/green jobs adult education courses provided by the Combined Authority?

 

Response:

Please find below the information we hold within the scope of your request.

We have done our best to accommodate your request, but would like to emphasise that the Greater London Authority is not a combined authority. That means that the services and functions that the GLA have are not directly comparable to the combined authorities, which are made up of constituent local authorities.

The Greater London Authority consists of a directly elected Executive Mayor and the London Assembly, a body of elected representatives who scrutinise the work of the Mayor. It is not a group of councils working together to collaborate and take action as is the case with ‘combined authorities’, as listed here^[1]. The role of the Greater London Authority is set out in the Greater London Authority Act 1999, and as amended in 2007. Further details of the authorities’ work can be found here. This is an important distinction, for example transport services in London are delivered by Transport for London not directly by the Greater London Authority.  

Despite the difference to combined authorities, the Mayor of London is taking urgent action on climate change. He has set a net zero 2030 target for London and has a broad environment agenda which is tackling climate change, improving air quality and reducing inequalities in the city. This includes the creation of the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone, to tackle the most polluting vehicles in Greater London. It also includes ensuring major new building developments are net zero, electrifying London’s bus fleet, having a third of the UK’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and divesting pension funds from fossil fuels. 

The Mayor has set out his pathway to 2030 and is supporting acceleration to that target through technical accelerators which are supporting the development of business cases for energy efficiency, district heating networks and renewable energy projects across London. For example the Mayor’s Accelerator for workplaces has led to the retrofit of 770 public sector buildings in London saving over 38,000 tonnes of CO₂ and 178 MWh of energy every year.

London now has over one third of all of the UK’s electric vehicle charge points (13,000) of which almost 900 are rapid or ultra rapid and the largest zero emission bus fleet in western Europe (9000 buses).

In addition the Mayor is supporting the financing of projects through the Mayor’s Energy Efficiency Fund which has mobilised over £330 million of investment into net zero projects. The Mayor has also launched the Green Finance Fund (GFF), which will lend up to £500m to projects working towards London’s net zero ambitions.

Now in the Mayor’s third term he is concentrating on developing around 15 Mayoral workstreams aimed at tackling some of the most important strategic issues facing our city and a number of those are directly supporting London in becoming a net zero city. Delivery Plans will start to be drafted in response to each of these workstreams to show how they will be delivered and the outcomes realised and these will come together to provide insight into the actions being undertaken in London’s pursuit of its 2030 net zero target.

The list above is far from exhaustive, but we would encourage you to find out more about the vast amount of work we are doing on the GLA website - Environment and Climate Change | London City Hall.

 

In response to your request - Please find below the information we hold within the scope of your request

^[1] https://www.local.gov.uk/topics/devolution/devolution-online-hub/devolution-explained/combined-authorities 

1. I would like information about your authority’s electricity sources in relation to climate action for the Council Climate Action Scorecards. This information may be held by an estates department or similar. In particular, please supply me with information relating to the following questions:

a. Does the combined authority have a 100% renewable green electricity tariff for all of the electricity that the combined authority is directly responsible for, and is this tariff with Green Energy UK plc, Good Energy Limited or Ecotricity?

This includes all electricity that the combined authority is directly responsible for, in offices and any other buildings leased and managed by the combined authority where the combined authority pays the electricity tariff. If unsure, please state your provider and tariff.

The Greater London Authority sites use 100% green electricity from Ecotricity. 

 

b. Does the combined authority generate and use energy from waste? And if so, what percentage of the combined authority’s total electricity use is powered by this/these energy from waste electricity sources?

The Greater London Authority is responsible for approving the plans of waste authorities, which include the use of energy from waste.

c. Does the combined authority buy directly from a local renewable electricity source or have its own renewable electricity sources? And if so, what percentage of the combined authority's total electricity use is powered by this/these renewable electricity sources?



This includes combined authority-owned renewable electricity sources that are located outside of the combined authority area, such as solar farms located further south to maximise energy generation.

The Greater London Authority purchases 100% of its electricity from Ecotricity.

 

2. I would like information about your combined authority’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 the following information:

a. How many staff does the authority directly employ (excluding contractors or subcontractors, and excluding teachers), that work directly for the authority?

Our latest workforce report, published twice yearly states that the GLA employs 1,396 staff^[1] directly.

^[1] PowerPoint Presentation (moderngov.co.uk)

 

b. How many directly employed staff spend 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE) on implementing the Climate Action Plan or other climate change projects? Please provide a list of all the roles.

This may include 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.

The GLA currently employs around 92 people working on climate change for 60%+ of the time, as listed below. This excludes officers who are in other parts of the GLA group, but not within the Greater London Authority (such as Transport for London staff)

• Deputy Mayor Environment and Energy
• Senior Policy Adviser to Deputy Mayor for Energy and Environment
• Executive Assistant to the Deputy Mayor Environment and Energy
• Assistant Director Environment
• Personal Assistant Administrative Support
• Head of Climate Change
• Climate Mitigation Manager
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Climate Change Mitigation
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Climate Change Mitigation
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Climate Change Mitigation
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Climate Change Mitigation
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Climate Change Mitigation
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Climate Change Mitigation
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Climate Change Mitigation
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Climate Change Mitigation
• Senior Project Officer Climate Change Mitigation
• Climate Change Team Coordinator
• Climate Adaption Manager
• Partnership Manager London Climate Change Partnership
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Climate Change Adaption
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Climate Change Adaption
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Climate Change Adaption
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Climate Change Adaption
• Project Manager London Sustainable Drainage Action Plan
• Stakeholder Engagement Manager Green Finance
• Stakeholder Engagement Manager Green Finance
• Senior Project Manager Green Finance
• Project Manager Green Finance
• Head of Energy
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Energy
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Energy
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Energy
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Energy
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Energy
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Energy
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Energy
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Energy
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Energy
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Energy
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer
• Senior Project Officer Energy Accelerators Programme
• Senior Commercial Manager Energy
• Senior Data Analyst Energy
• Programme Manager Energy
• Programme Manager Energy
• Policy and Engagement Retrofit Energy
• Project Manager Energy
• Environment Energy Evaluation Programme Coordinator
• Environment Energy Evaluation Programme Coordinator
• Project Officer Energy
• Project Support Officer Energy
• Strategic Programme Manager Energy
• Climate Change Team Coordinator Energy
• Head of Air Quality
• Air Quality Manager Transport Emissions
• Air Quality Manager Statutory Duties and Boroughs
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Air Quality
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Air Quality
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Air Quality
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Air Quality
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Air Quality
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Air Quality
• Project Officer Air Quality
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Waste
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Waste
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Waste
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Waste
• Policy and Programmes Manager Waste
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Green Infrastructure
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Green Infrastructure
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Green Infrastructure
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Green Infrastructure
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Green Infrastructure
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Green Infrastructure
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Green Infrastructure
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Green Infrastructure
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Green Infrastructure
• Policy and Programmes Manager Green Infrastructure
• London Urban Forest Plan Coordinator
• Nature Recovery Officer
• Nature Recovery Officer
• Senior Policy Projects Officer Strategy
• Senior Policy Projects Officer Strategy
• Senior Policy and Programmes Officer Strategy
• Senior Policy Coordinator Strategy
• Policy and Programmes Manager Strategy and Green Recovery
• Policy Officer Strategy
• Programme Officer Strategy
• Programme Manager Programme Coordination
• Business Coordinator
• Project Officer Programme Coordination
• Principal Policy and Programmes Officer Communications

 

3. I would like information about your authority’s climate awareness training in relation to climate action for the Council Climate Action Scorecards. This information may be held by the HR department or other departments that organise staff training. 

In particular, please supply me with information relating to the following questions:

a. Have all senior management received climate awareness, including Carbon Literacy or equivalent training, before 15th August 2024? Please state the type of training.



We are seeking information for senior managers who have had climate awareness training that has taken place since 1st January 2015 and up until 15th August 2024. We define senior management as including all Chief Executives, deputy Chief Executives and Directors or Heads of Departments, or equivalents, depending on what each council calls them.

The GLA has a duty to have regard to climate change mitigation and adaptation in exercising its statutory functions. There are a number of activities the GLA is undertaking to put this duty into practice including rolling out climate literacy training to all staff. In April 2024 the GLA’s climate literacy training programme was accredited by the Carbon Literacy Project and since then 22 volunteer trainers have been recruited from across the organisation to deliver the training to all staff, including senior managers. The roll out of the training began in September 2024 and is planned to run throughout this mayoral term.

b. Have all current councillors who sit on the combined authority executive received climate awareness, including Carbon Literacy or equivalent training, since being elected from May 2023 or before? Please state the type of training.



We don’t expect councillors who were elected in May 2024 to have already been trained. We are only seeking information for councillors who have taken climate awareness training that has taken place since 1st January 2015 and up until 15th August 2024.



If councillors have been trained by the respective local authorities, rather than via the combined authority, this is valid. We want to know the number of people within the combined authority that have been trained, whether via the combined authority or elsewhere.



This could be training certified by the Carbon Literacy Project or another organisation, university or in-house. We want to know the number of people who have attended the training. We don’t need to know the number of staff that have received a certificate of completion or attendance.

Please see the previous answer regarding climate literacy training.

The GLA is not a combined authority. It is comprised of an executive (the Mayor of London) and a scrutiny body (London Assembly members) and does have elected councillors like the combined authorities.

 

4. Has the combined authority written to or met with UK national or devolved governments to ask or lobby for climate action since 1st January 2023?



Please provide some evidence of the most recent letter or meeting such as a copy of the letter or email sent, or the date, topic of meeting and position of the person that the meeting was held with.



This includes either asking for more powers and funding for local authorities to take climate action, or asking for the government to take further action themselves. This includes working with other local authorities to send joint letters or meetings to lobby the UK government and includes both general climate action and calls for action on specific issues such as transport where climate change is mentioned as a motivating factor for taking action. This includes if a cabinet member or other councillor has written to or met with the UK or devolved governments on behalf of the combined authority.

The Mayor recognises the important role central government must play in reaching his target of London becoming net zero by 2030, and he has continually called on them to do so. The Mayor and the GLA have engaged with the previous and current governments on a range of policy and regulatory issues related to net zero. These have included direct engagement, responses to consultations and in partnership with like-minded organisations on topics of shared interest.

The Mayor currently co-chairs the C40 Cities network, which advocates for accelerated climate action and bring together almost 100 global cities to make the case for more support from government and recognition of the role cities are playing in tackling the climate emergency. In 2023, under the leadership of the co-chairs, the C40 focused itself on helping get the world off of fossil fuels, in particular by halving fossil fuel use in cities by 2030, and addressing the impacts and injustices of climate breakdown, with a focus on increasing equity and climate resilience in cities.   

The Mayor also lobbies through the M10 and UK100, where the GLA is actively engaged in pushing for greater city powers to act on climate.

You can review in detail all Mayoral monthly appointments and engagements related to climate change here https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-mayor-does/mayors-reports-assembly?ac-3226=3225

 

5. I am requesting information about employee representative bodies’ ability to inform and influence the development and delivery of the council’s Climate Action Plan.



By employee representative bodies we include the council’s recognised trade unions as well as other forms of non-union employee representation (ex. staff associations and employee forums). In particular, please supply me with information relating to the following questions:

a. Does the council have any policies, procedures or agreements in place that enable employee representative bodies to influence the development and delivery of the council’s Climate Action Plan? If so, please share details of these policies, procedures or agreements.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has set some of the most ambitious plans to tackle climate change in the world. He has committed to making London a zero carbon city and his London Environment Strategy (May 2018) showcases the policies and programmes to get us there. This strategy includes revisions based on feedback from public consultation. Public consultation was open to anyone, including trade unions and other employee representatives.

Unions are paramount to achieving a just transition. For a transition to be just and equitable, it is crucial that workers can get behind policies to ensure that they feel they can enact change.

Last year, the GLA undertook engagement as a precursor to the development an updated London Plan. This included holding stakeholder events, where anyone was able to attend, and all-day deliberative events, which brought together representative groups of Londoners to discuss London’s challenges and future.

b. Have employee representative bodies contributed to any recent consultations related to the delivery of the council’s Climate Action Plan? If so, could you please share any relevant document, dated from 1 January 2023, including:

a) Meeting minutes; b) Reports; c) Invitations to events; d) Other relevant documents

Please see the previous answer, in particular the paragraph noting last year’s engagement on the London Plan.

 

6. I would like information about the green skills courses provided by the authority and how many people have undertaken them. This information is most likely to be held by a skills, education or business department. In particular, please supply me with information relating to the following questions. Between 1st September 2020 and 1st September 2023:

a) How many green skills adult education courses have been provided by the Combined Authority, and;



b) How many people have been trained on the above green skills/green jobs adult education courses provided by the Combined Authority?



For both of the above questions, this includes courses related to the building of or maintaining of residential homes or commercial buildings as well as other Green Skills, such as in relation to Electric Vehicles, Digital Skills, Education, Biodiversity and Conservation management and others. This includes courses of any length and courses that are provided as part of a Skills Bootcamp.



I am using the following definition for green skills: Green jobs and green skills are ones that contribute to preserving or restoring the environment. They have a focus on either reducing carbon emissions, protecting and restoring nature, minimising waste and pollution, adapting to the effects of climate change or making similar environmental improvements. Green jobs and skills can be in traditional sectors such as manufacturing and construction, or in new, emerging green sectors such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. Sustainability managers in businesses, green transport officers and thermal heating specialists are all examples of green jobs.

Background information on the AEB:

• The Adult Education Budget (AEB) now known as the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) was delegated to the Mayor in August 2019. The first full academic year of delegated AEB was 2019/20. The AEB is circa £320 million per year.
• The following data covers the full academic years from 2020/21 (August 2020– July 2021) to 2022/23 (August 2022 – July 2023).
• There is no universal definition of a green job and the green economy and therefore identifying relevant ‘green skills’ courses is not straightforward.
• For the purposes of identifying green skills funded through the AEB, the GLA uses the following categories:
  
  • Technical green skills for training in low carbon technologies, such as heat pump installation or electric vehicle (EV) charging points.
  • Supporting green skills for training in occupational areas which have a wider range of relevant skills. These include construction trades (e.g. electricians, carpenters and joiners) important for energy efficiency, power and low carbon transport.
  • Enabling green skills such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) are required in different sectors, including construction, transport and energy.
• The data presented below should be treated as Experimental Statistics as the methodologies used to produce them are still in their developmental phase.
• It should be noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on the Further Education sector in London during the reporting period. Thus, extra care should be taken in interpreting this data.

 

Green Skills in the AEB

• Technical Green Skills: In 2022/23, the latest full year published, around 5,900 Londoners undertook courses (8,060) that provide very specific green skills, such as understanding retrofit, recycling, landscaping and environmental sustainability. The estimated delivery value^[1] associated with these qualifications amounted to £4.2m in 2022/23.
• Supporting Green Skills: In addition, recent GLA commissioned research (RCU, 2022^[2]) showed that the AEB provides support for the green economy in other ways. Around 6,400 learners enrolled in Building and Construction, Transport and Logistics, Energy or similar courses that are likely to be related to green jobs (note that some contain 'green content' in their syllabus). For example, roles such as electricians play a key role in installing and maintain low carbon technologies, including solar panels, Electric Vehicle charging point installation and battery storage. The delivery of these courses (7,790) is equivalent to around £14.9m in spend in 2022/23.
• Enabling Green Skills: Furthermore, in 2022/23 many AEB learners (around 19,480) undertook 29,000 relevant STEM qualifications such as digital technology, science and engineering.  These ‘enabling’ skills are required in different green sectors and will also enable individuals to better adapt to changing job roles as London moves to net zero. In particular, according to RCU (2022), digital technology is seen by employers as a particularly vital tool for reducing carbon emissions. These 'enabling' courses are equivalent to £12.9m in spend. 
• Compared to academic year 2020/21, the key green skills output indicators have increased significantly: learner participation increased by 8%, learning aim enrolments increased by 21%.^[3]
• Overall, the data suggests that the AEB contributes significantly to the green sector.

 

 

Table 1: Learner participation, enrolments, and the estimated AEB monetary contribution to the green economy in London, academic years 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23

Source: Individualised Learner Record R14 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 data. Notes: Delivery values (£) are estimates as shown in the ILR and funding claims. These funding figures are subject to change due to data reconciliation. Learner participation is the count of unique learners.

 

Figure 1: Number of Londoners undertaking Green and related qualifications in the AEB, academic years 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23

Source: Individualised Learner Record R14 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 data.

 

 

 

Figure 2: Number of enrolments in Green and related qualifications in the AEB, academic years 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23

 

Source: Individualised Learner Record R14 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 data.

 

Background information on Skills Bootcamps for Londoners:

• The Skills Bootcamp for Londoners programme aims to help Londoners aged 19+ to enter employment, upskill or change career. Skills Bootcamp courses are intensive (up to 16 weeks) and provide access to in-demand sector specific skills training at Levels 3-5.
• Skills Bootcamps are open to Londoners aged 19+, including those who are employed, self-employed, or unemployed.  These limited eligibility requirements provide individuals with wider access to opportunities to retrain, update or formalise their skills or acquire specialist skills.
• The GLA applies to the Department for Education (DfE) for funding in each financial year (Wave).
• The Skills Bootcamps for Londoners programme was launched in July 2022. The programme data covers financial years 22/23 and 23/24 (Waves 3 and 4). During this time, there were four Green Skills Bootcamps.

 

Green Skills in the Skills Bootcamps for Londoners:

• In Wave 3 (FY 22/23) and Wave 4 (FY 23/24), 330 learners started green Skills Bootcamps for Londoners courses.^[4] Green skills courses include Net Zero Futures, Track Operatives and Land Management and Arboriculture.
• In addition, there are several Skills Bootcamp for Londoners courses that support or enable the green economy in sectors including Construction, Technical and Digital. Across Skills Bootcamp for Londoners Wave 3 and 4 there were a total of 1,320 learners on Construction course, 160 learners on technical courses and 4,180 learners in Digital courses.

 

Table 2: Learner starts in technical green, supporting and enabling Skills Bootcamp for Londoners course, Wave 3 and 4.

Source: Source: R14 22/23 GMP Skills Bootcamps tracker and R11 23/24 GMP Skills Bootcamps tracker.

Note: Learner starts are rounded to the nearest 10 and therefore may not sum to Totals.

 

 ^[1] As shown in the ILR R14 2022/23 and funding claims data. The funding figures are estimates, which are subject to change due to data reconciliation.

^[2] RCU (2022). Green Skills Adult Education Provision in London.

^[3] Note one or more learning aim can make up a single adult education course.

^[4] Source: R14 22/23 GMP Skills Bootcamps tracker and R11 23/24 GMP Skills Bootcamps tracker.

 

If you have any further questions relating to this matter, please contact me, quoting the references

MGLA210824-9596

MGLA210824-9597

MGLA210824-9598

MGLA210824-9599

MGLA210824-9600

MGLA210824-9601