Initial Climate Change Impact Assessment

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	2026-27 High Needs Budget
Brief description of proposal	The proposal relates to the setting and approval of the High Needs budget for the 2026-27 financial year. Under the Children and Families Act 2014, the Council has a statutory responsibility to support the assessed needs of the children & young people with special education needs & disabilities (SEND). Under the School Standards & Framework Act 1998 and School Early Years Finance England Regulations 2020 the Council has statutory duties to set the non-schools education budget (including the High Needs Budget). The wider budget setting by County Council members on 13^th February 2026 delegated the decision to set the High Needs Budget to the Corporate Director - Children & Young Peoples Service, in conjunction with the Corporate Director, Resources and Executive Members for Finance and Schools.
Directorate	Children and Young People’s Services Directorate
Service area	Inclusion
Lead officer	Howard Emmett, Assistant Director, Resources (CYPS)
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment	Sally Dunn – Head of Finance – Schools, Early Years & High Needs

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	No environmental factor effects have been identified with the 2026-27 High Needs budget proposals.
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)	Howard Emmett
Date	5^th March 2026