Climate change impact assessment                                                                                                                         

The purpose of this assessment is to help us understand the likely impacts of our decisions on the environment of North Yorkshire and on our aspiration to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2030, or as close to that date as possible. The intention is to mitigate negative effects and identify projects which will have positive effects.

This document should be completed in consultation with the supporting guidance. The final document will be published as part of the decision making process and should be written in Plain English.

If you have any additional queries which are not covered by the guidance please email climatechange@northyorks.gov.uk

Title of proposal	Agreement of General Consent in Response to Direction Issued Under Section 24 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
Brief description of proposal	Approve a general consent to enable Districts to enter into relevant financial commitments prior to Vesting Date.
Directorate	Central Services
Service area	Strategic Resources
Lead officer	Gary Fielding and Barry Khan
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment	None.
Date impact assessment started	4 May 2022

Options appraisal

Were any other options considered in trying to achieve the aim of this project? If so, please give brief details and explain why alternative options were not progressed.

The Executive could choose not to grant a General Consent and seek to grant individual decisions for every decision that fall under the Direction.  However due to the wording of the legislation and the Direction, this would mean that a large and unmanageable number of decisions would come to the Executive for approval and provide a bureaucratic burden for the District Councils in running their services.

Alternatively the Executive could choose to provide greater or lesser consent as detailed in Appendix 2.  However it is proposed that the attached Appendix provides the appropriate level of balance in ensuring oversight by the Executive responsible for the new unitary council whilst allowing freedom of the District Councils to continue running their services.

What impact will this proposal have on council budgets? Will it be cost neutral, have increased cost or reduce costs?

Please explain briefly why this will be the result, detailing estimated savings or costs where this is possible.

This proposal has no direct impact on the Council’s existing budget but is designed to protect the future budgets for North Yorkshire Council.

How will this proposal impact on the environment? N.B. There may be short term negative impact and longer term positive impact. Please include all potential impacts over the lifetime of a project and provide an explanation.		Positive impact (Place a X in the box below where relevant)	No impact (Place a X in the box below where relevant)	Negative impact (Place a X in the box below where relevant)	Explain why will it have this effect and over what timescale? Where possible/relevant please include: · Changes over and above business as usual · Evidence or measurement of effect · Figures for CO2e · Links to relevant documents	Explain how you plan to mitigate any negative impacts.	Explain how you plan to improve any positive outcomes as far as possible.
Minimise greenhouse gas emissions e.g. reducing emissions from travel, increasing energy efficiencies etc.	Emissions from travel		X
	Emissions from construction		X
	Emissions from running of buildings		X
	Emissions from data storage		X
	Other		X
Minimise waste: Reduce, reuse, recycle and compost e.g. reducing use of single use plastic			X
Reduce water consumption			X
Minimise pollution (including air, land, water, light and noise)			X
Ensure resilience to the effects of climate change e.g. reducing flood risk, mitigating effects of drier, hotter summers			X
Enhance conservation and wildlife			X
Safeguard the distinctive characteristics, features and special qualities of North Yorkshire’s landscape			X
Other (please state below)

Are there any recognised good practice environmental standards in relation to this proposal? If so, please detail how this proposal meets those standards.

None.

Summary Summarise the findings of your impact assessment, including impacts, the recommendation in relation to addressing impacts, including any legal advice, and next steps. This summary should be used as part of the report to the decision maker.

The proposal seeks to allow District and Borough Councils to continue to make their own decisions (with their corresponding relevant Impact Assessment forms) under the General Consent Framework.

Sign off section

This climate change impact assessment was completed by:

Name	Barry Khan
Job title	Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) and Monitoring Officer
Service area	Legal and Democratic Services
Directorate	Central Services
Signature	Barry Khan
Completion date	4 May 2022

Authorised by relevant Assistant Director (signature):

Date: