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	Domestic Abuse Policy for Housing Service
Brief description of proposal	Social housing providers including local authorities with housing stock, are required to comply with the Regulator of Social Housing’s updated Neighbourhood and Community Standard from 1st April 2024.  This includes having a policy for how to recognise and respond effectively to domestic abuse. We are currently also working towards an accreditation through the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance which involves improving our response to domestic abuse, in order to reduce harm to residents and our tenants. The new policy will provide direction for staff and clarity about the response residents and tenants can expect from the council. Consideration has been given to a possible increase in travel by staff in some parts of the county, as a result of the implementation of this policy; however, the number of increased visits would be negligible given that much work is carried out over the telephone or via Microsoft teams meetings. Ongoing support is provided by specialist agencies rather than our own employees.  The Housing team will also be advised to consider using public transport or electric pool cars where appropriate to reduce environmental impact.
Directorate	Community Development
Service area	Housing
Lead officer	Jo Marriott
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment	Ollie Braithwaite Climate Change Business Partner

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 council	For the county	Overall
Greenhouse gas emissions	Choose an item.	Choose an item.	No effect on emissions
Waste	Choose an item.	Choose an item.	No effect on waste
Water use	Choose an item.	Choose an item.	No effect on water usage
Pollution (air, land, water, noise, light)	Choose an item.	Choose an item.	No effect on pollution
Resilience to adverse weather/climate events (flooding, drought etc)	Choose an item.	Choose an item.	No effect on resilience
Ecological effects (biodiversity, loss of habitat etc)	Choose an item.	Choose an item.	No effect on ecology
Heritage and landscape	Choose an item.	Choose an item.	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:		Continue to full CCIA:
Reason for decision	The implementation of the new policy is not considered to have any adverse climate impacts.
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)	Andrew Rowe
Date