Initial Climate Change Impact Assessment (Form created August 2021)

The intention of this document is to help the council to gain an initial understanding of the impact of a project or decision on the environment. This document should be completed in consultation with the supporting guidance. Dependent on this initial assessment you may need to go on to complete a full Climate Change Impact Assessment. The final document will be published as part of the decision-making process.

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

Title of proposal	York and North Yorkshire Devolution – Outcome of Consultation
Brief description of proposal	The decision is to determine whether to submit the consultation outcome and the scheme for a Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) to Government to request them to progress creating the MCA. On 1 August 2022 the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced that the Government was minded to enter into a Devolution Deal with York and North Yorkshire with a view to establishing a Mayoral Combined Authority. The devolution agreement (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/york-and-north-yorkshire-devolution-deal) includes: •           York and North Yorkshire establishing a combined authority and electing a directly elected mayor to provide overall vision and leadership, seek the best value for taxpayer’s money, be directly accountable to the city region’s electorate and to receive new powers on transport, housing and skills. •           Control of a £18 million per year allocation of investment funding over 30 years 35% capital, 65% revenue, to be invested by York and North Yorkshire to drive growth and take forward its priorities over the longer term. •           New powers to improve and better integrate local transport, including the ability to introduce bus franchising, control of appropriate local transport functions e.g., local transport plans, and control of a Key Route Network. •           An integrated transport settlement starting in 2024/25 and an additional £1 million to support the development of local transport plans. •           New powers to better shape local skills provision to meet the needs of the local economy, including devolution of the core Adult Education Budget, as well as input into the new Local Skills Improvement Plans. •           New powers to drive the regeneration of the area and to build more affordable homes including compulsory purchase powers and the ability to establish Mayoral Development Corporations. •           Over £13 million for the building of new homes on brownfield land across 2023/24 and 2024/25, subject to sufficient eligible projects for funding being identified. •           Investment of up to £2.65 million on projects that support York and North Yorkshire’s priority to deliver affordable, low carbon homes across the area, subject to final business cases. •           Subject to a full business case, demonstrating the value of the scheme in delivering housing, jobs and GVA to the area, the government is minded to provide additional support to the York Central brownfield regeneration scheme. •           £7 million investment to enable York and North Yorkshire to drive green economic growth towards their ambitions to be a carbon negative region. This investment is subject to agreement of submitted business case. •           York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority will plan and deliver the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) from 2025/26 if there is a continuation of the Fund and the delivery geographies remain the same. •           Integration of the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (YNY LEP) into York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority. This will ensure there continues to be a strong and independent local business voice which informs local decision making. •           A commitment to explore a local partnership with Great British Railways so that the mayor can help shape and improve local rail. •           Support to develop a Natural Capital Investment plan for York and North Yorkshire. •           Commitments to work in partnership with the area on the development and delivery of strategies to realise the region’s cultural potential. •           Engagement on broadband and mobile infrastructure rollout and on the development of the Scarborough Cyber Cluster. •           A commitment to establish a programme working group in support of the BioYorkshire programme. •           A key leadership role for the mayor in public safety, taking on the role and functions of the Police Fire & Crime Commissioner and having a clear role in local resilience and civil contingency planning, preparation, and delivery. The agreement states that the deal it is, “Subject to ratification of the deal by all partners and the statutory requirements including, public consultation, the consents of councils affected, and parliamentary approval of the secondary legislation implementing the provisions of this deal”. This consultation considered the devolution scheme. The scheme sets out the proposed role and functions of the Combined Authority. On 6 October 2022, Councillors in York agreed to proceed with a public consultation on the scheme. Councillors in North Yorkshire agreed likewise on 6 September 2022. The consultation asked respondents for their views on: •           Governance arrangements for the proposed Mayoral Combined Authority •           Finance functions •           Role of a Mayor and Mayoral Combined Authority in delivery of net zero, climate change and natural capital ambitions •           Transport functions •           Housing and regeneration functions •           Skills and employment functions •           Transfer of Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner functions The eight-week consultation took place across York and North Yorkshire commencing on 21 October 2022 and ending on 16 December 2022. Results have been analysed and are presented in the report to City of York and North Yorkshire County Councils.
Directorate	Central Services
Service area	Legal and Democratic Services
Lead officer	Barry Khan
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment	Barry Khan working in collaboration with City of York Officers

The chart below contains the main environmental factors to consider in your initial assessment – choose the appropriate option from the drop-down list for each one.

Remember to think about the following;

· Travel

· Construction

· Data storage

· Use of buildings

· Change of land use

· Opportunities for recycling and reuse

Environmental factor to consider	For the county council	For the county	Overall
Greenhouse gas emissions	No effect on emissions	No Effect on emissions	No effect on emissions
Waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste
Water use	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage
Pollution (air, land, water, noise, light)	No effect on pollution	No effect on pollution	No effect on pollution
Resilience to adverse weather/climate events (flooding, drought etc)	No effect on resilience	No effect on resilience	No effect on resilience
Ecological effects (biodiversity, loss of habitat etc)	No effect on ecology	No effect on ecology	No effect on ecology
Heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape

If any of these factors are likely to result in a negative or positive environmental impact then a full climate change impact assessment will be required. It is important that we capture information about both positive and negative impacts to aid the council in calculating its carbon footprint and environmental impact.

Decision (Please tick one option)	Full CCIA not relevant or proportionate:	ü	Continue to full CCIA:
Reason for decision	The decision requested is to proceed with the statutory process in creating a Mayoral Combined Authority to access the Devolution Deal.  The Devolution Deal provides access to funding which will have a considerable benefit to reducing the carbon footprint and environmental impact across the region.  However how that funding will be determined will be a matter for a future decision of a Mayoral Combined Authority that the Government decide to implement.  The decisions that are made by the Mayoral Combined Authority will be subject to its own climate impact assessment and therefore it is premature to carry out a full CCIA at this stage where the sole recommendation is to submit the results of the consultation and the Scheme to Government for them to determine whether to create the governance structure of a MCA.  The proposal of creating a Combined Authority includes a commitment to work with Government on Net Zero, Climate Change and Natural Capital.  Currently funding programmes have already been identified for Brownfield and Net Zero and those are already committed to.  Within the Devolution Deal it is stated that the region is seeking to become a trailblazer in Natural Capital investment and has an ambition to become England’s first carbon negative region.  In late December 2022, York and North Yorkshire were invited to submit a proposal to DEFRA to progress a Natural Capital Investment Plan and explore investment models.  This was submitted in early February 2023.  The Minded To Devolution Deal has previously been agreed, subject to consultation, by the Executive and the decision that this assessment relates to is purely to determine progressing to the next stage for Government to consider creating the Mayoral Combined Authority and therefore this decision by itself, which purely relates to the governance process, does not require a full Climate Change Impact Assessment.  However it is anticipated that once a Mayoral Combined Authority is created and has access to the relevant funds and create an appropriate political platform, there will be a positive impact on combatting the contributors to climate change and those decisions will be subject to a separate assessment.
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)	Barry Khan
Date	8^th February 2023