Appendix 1, Cabinet

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This is a draft Climate Resilience and Environment Policy for East Sussex County Council, aiming to protect residents, services, infrastructure and public finances from severe weather and environmental risks. p1

The policy says the Council will focus on practical resilience action, comply with statutory requirements, and avoid imposing unnecessary climate-related burdens on residents, businesses and local suppliers. p2p3

The policy covers areas including flood risk and drainage, highways resilience, support for vulnerable residents, schools, council buildings and procurement. p8p9p10p11p12

Progress on the policy would be reported through quarterly reporting against the Council Plan targets. p13

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• p1Appendix 1 – Draft Climate Resilience and Environment Policy 1. Introduction and Policy Aim 1.1 The aim of this Policy is to be ambitious and realistic in relation to the resources available, to protect residents, services, infrastructure and public finances from severe weather and environmental risks. The Council will reduce energy use, costs and emissions where this is affordable, cost-effective, externally funded, legally required or supports service resilience. 1.2 East Sussex County Council’s first responsibility is to deliver high-quality, affordable and reliable public services for residents. The Council must use taxpayers’ money carefully, protect essential services, support vulnerable residents, and ensure that its buildings, infrastructure, supply chains and commissioned services are resilient to foreseeable risks. This Policy sets out a practical, proportionate and financially responsible approach to our work on climate resilience and the environment. 1.3 For the purposes of this Policy, climate and weather resilience means reducing the risks created by hotter summers, wetter winters, intense rainfall, flooding, drought, storms, cold weather, and disruption to infrastructure. It should be treated as a core consideration in service planning, incident response, asset management, commissioning, investment decisions and community support, not as a separate standalone activity. 2. Core Principles 2.1 The Council will work to the following principles:
• p21. Practical resilience action - The Council will focus on practical action to ensure Council staff, assets and services become as resilient as possible to the effects of severe flooding, heat and drought as we adapt to a changing climate. Priority will be given to severe weather preparedness, flood risk management, heat resilience, drought and water efficiency, building resilience, highways and drainage resilience, emergency planning, energy efficiency, service continuity, and protection of vulnerable residents. 2. Statutory compliance - The Council will comply with applicable national legislation, regulation and government requirements. It will not voluntarily impose additional local targets or requirements unless they are affordable, necessary and supported by a clear business case.
• p33. Support for residents, businesses and local suppliers - The Council will avoid imposing unnecessary or disproportionate climate-related burdens on local residents, businesses, farmers, voluntary organisations or suppliers. Procurement and commissioning requirements should be proportionate, relevant to the contract, and consistent with value for money. 4. Funded commitments - The Council will normally only adopt or continue climate-related programmes, targets or actions where supported by an identified budget, a clear invest-to-save case, external funding, a statutory or regulatory requirement, a demonstrable service resilience need, or a clear operational or financial benefit. The Council will not normally commit to programmes that impose significant unfunded capital or revenue pressures. 5. Affordability and value for money - All climate, energy and environmental proposals must be assessed against affordability and value for money. The Council will prioritise measures that reduce energy bills, reduce maintenance or operating costs, have a realistic payback period, can be delivered through planned maintenance or asset replacement, attract external funding, avoid future costs, improve service continuity, or support statutory compliance. 3. Policy Objectives 3.1 The Council will pursue all 5 objectives through proportionate, practical and affordable actions, including the specifics listed under each heading: a) Protect essential services from severe weather and environmental risks reviewing business continuity plans; identifying services most exposed to severe weather disruption; ensuring care services have appropriate heat and emergency arrangements; reviewing severe weather risks in commissioned services; maintaining emergency planning arrangements; ensuring highways, transport and waste services can respond to disruption.
• p8This activity protects communities, maintains critical services, strengthens infrastructure, supports vulnerable residents and factors adaptation into proportionate service planning and investment decisions. The following areas form part of the Council’s practical resilience approach. 5.2 Flood risk, drainage and place resilience 5.2.1 Local flood risk management activities will continue and the Council will lead the county’s flood risk management strategy, working with partners to understand flood risk, influence investment and support local resilience. 5.2.2 Flood risk advice will be provided to planning authorities so that new development is safe, sustainable and resilient to future climate risks. 5.2.3 We will seek to ensure that Risk Management Authorities prioritise affordable investment in drainage systems, flood defence and mitigation, and resilient infrastructure where this reduces the impact of severe weather on communities, roads and public services. 5.2.4 Sustainable drainage will be supported where appropriate. This includes natural flood management, tree planting, green infrastructure and resilience opportunities in school and community settings. 5.3 Nature recovery and environmental resilience 5.3.1 The East Sussex and Brighton & Hove Local Nature Recovery Strategy will be used as a practical framework to identify priorities and locations where habitat restoration, ecological connectivity, healthier soils and water systems, tree cover, shade and natural flood management can support resilience. 5.3.2 In exercising its functions, the Council will comply with its statutory duty to consider what action it can properly take to further the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity. It will determine and implement appropriate policies and objectives in accordance with that duty, having regard to relevant strategies, including the East Sussex and Brighton & Hove Local Nature Recovery Strategy, and to the proper exercise of its other functions.
• p95.3.3 Nature recovery and environmental resilience will be embedded in local decision-making where it is aligned with flood risk management, planning, highways, land management, public health activity, affordability and value for money. 5.4 Highways, transport and infrastructure 5.4.1 A resilient highway network will be maintained that supports emergency response, business activity, public transport, and access to essential services during extreme weather events. 5.4.2 We will continue winter service, drainage maintenance and response to flooding and storm damage, prioritising works that reduce the likelihood or impact of disruption on key routes. 5.4.3 Climate adaptation and resilience will be reflected in highways asset management, infrastructure investment and long-term maintenance planning, taking account of future weather patterns as well as current condition and safety. 5.5 Emergency planning and business continuity 5.5.1 Emergency planning, business continuity and severe weather arrangements will be maintained so that critical services can continue during major incidents, including flooding, storms, heatwaves, cold weather and power or infrastructure disruption. 5.5.2 We will work through county, East Sussex and pan-Sussex resilience arrangements with emergency services, district and borough councils, utilities and voluntary organisations, including through the Local Resilience Forum. 5.5.3 Climate and weather risks to Council services will be assessed and proportionate adaptation planning embedded into corporate risk management, service planning, commissioning and recovery arrangements. 5.6 Public health and vulnerable residents 5.6.1 Public health evidence is used, including climate-related health impact assessment work, to understand and target risks relating to heat, cold, flooding, air quality, mental health impacts and service disruption.
• p105.6.2 Support will be focused on residents and communities most vulnerable to climate-related harm, including those more exposed because of age, disability, health conditions, housing circumstances, isolation or reliance on services. 5.6.3 Advice will be provided and activity co-ordinated with partners including NHS bodies, the UK Health Security Agency, utilities, district and borough councils and the voluntary sector during heatwaves, cold weather, flooding, power outages and other severe weather events. 5.7 Adult social care, children’s services and commissioned provision 5.7.1 We will work with care providers, care homes, domiciliary care services and health partners so that vulnerable adults are protected during extreme heat or cold and providers have appropriate contingency plans. 5.7.2 Adult social care continuity plans will be maintained for severe weather and infrastructure disruption, with a focus on safeguarding, continuity of care, provider resilience and people who may be isolated or dependent on essential services. 5.7.3 The resilience role of children’s services will continue to be recognised, including safeguarding children and families during severe weather, maintaining family support, responding to disruption affecting children in care and care leavers, and managing risks to transport for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and other essential support arrangements. 5.7.4 We will use commissioning and contract management to support provider business continuity, emergency response, supply-chain resilience and arrangements to protect residents who rely on commissioned support. 5.8 Schools and education settings 5.8.1 We will support school business continuity planning and emergency preparedness so that education settings can respond to severe weather and infrastructure disruption.
• p115.8.2 We will provide advice and coordination to schools during flooding, heat, cold weather, transport disruption or site safety issues affecting pupils and staff. 5.8.3 School estate risks associated with flooding, overheating, drainage and infrastructure disruption will be managed and adaptation opportunities such as sustainable drainage, shading, ventilation and wider site resilience will be identified where affordable and operationally justified. 5.8.4 We will support proportionate education and awareness around climate adaptation and resilience for children, young people and school communities. 5.9 Council estate, communications and community resilience 5.9.1 We will consider overheating, flooding, drainage, energy resilience and service continuity risks across the Council estate, including offices, libraries, depots and service buildings. 5.9.2 Public information and advice will be provided before and during severe weather, signposting residents and partners to support during heatwaves, cold weather, flooding, storms and other disruptive events. 5.9.3 We will work with communities, parish and town councils, the voluntary and community sector and local flood groups to support preparedness, community emergency plans and practical neighbourhood-level resilience action. 5.10 Transport and Mobility 5.10.1 We will take a practical approach to transport and mobility, informed by existing plans and strategies. We will not pursue additional measures that unnecessarily restrict residents’ choice or impose disproportionate costs unless required by law, necessary for safety, or supported by a clear local business case. 5.10.2 We will support efficient fleet management, replacement of vehicles at end of life where cost-effective, fuel efficiency, route optimisation, practical support for staff travel choices, infrastructure maintenance, and measures that improve safety and reduce congestion.
• p125.11 Property and Buildings 5.11.1 We will manage our property estate to reduce avoidable cost and improve resilience through: · maintaining buildings properly; · reducing energy waste; · replacing inefficient systems at end of life; · improving resilience to heat, flooding and severe weather; · investing in buildings that are needed for long-term service delivery; · avoiding unnecessary expenditure on buildings that may be disposed of or rationalised. 5.11.2 Major property decisions will take account of whole-life cost, service need, maintenance liability and resilience. 5.12 Procurement and Local Economy 5.12.1 We will ensure that procurement supports value for money, resilience and local economic benefit. We will avoid imposing excessive climate-related requirements that disadvantage small and medium-sized businesses or local suppliers. 5.12.2 Where environmental considerations are relevant, they should be focused on practical outcomes such as lower whole-life cost, reduced energy use, reduced waste, reliable supply chains, resilience to disruption, compliance with law, and efficient use of resources. 6. Governance 6.1 This Policy will be overseen through the Council’s normal business planning process with activity integrated into service planning, risk management, business continuity, emergency planning, asset management, procurement, financial planning and capital programme development. 6.2 This Policy provides a framework for decision-making and will be applied consistently with the Council’s statutory duties and the circumstances of each proposal. Nothing in the Policy prevents the Council from considering the individual merits of a matter or departing from the Policy where there is a lawful and rational justification for doing so.
• p136.3 The Council will pursue the policy objectives through proportionate, practical and affordable actions, including: · complying with applicable legal requirements; · responding to relevant government guidance where appropriate; · avoiding adopting unfunded local targets; · reviewing existing commitments to ensure they remain affordable; · removing or amending commitments that are no longer financially justified. 6.4 This Policy incorporates the following existing areas of County Council climate and weather resilience activity: · flood risk management, drainage, planning advice and place resilience; · nature recovery, green infrastructure, sustainable drainage and natural flood management; · highways, transport, winter service and infrastructure resilience; · emergency planning, business continuity and Local Resilience Forum arrangements; · public health assessment and support for vulnerable residents; · adult social care, children’s services and commissioned provider resilience; · schools, education settings and school estate adaptation; Council estate resilience, public communications and community preparedness. 6.5 Progress will be reported through quarterly reporting on the agreed Council Plan targets.