Having given three days notice of the questions I wanted to ask at Sheffield City Council’s meeting yesterday, I was very disappointed not to get a single answer. The Council have had these fairly basic questions since January 23rd and still can’t manage to answer them. On the 19th February I was told I would have the answers by the end of the week, but I am still waiting.
I am continuing to catalogue all the questions and answers on this page.
The questions were not originally asked under Freedom of Information as the Lord Mayor states. I had hoped that since the Lowcock Report the Council would be more efficient at answering questions and FOI’s would not be necessary. However, the Council is now treating the questions under the Environmental Information Regulations so we should have full replies by 19th March.
Here is the letter I received.
Dear Graham Wroe,
Thank you for your request for information relating to climate action.
We are formally registering your email of 23 January 2024. Regulation 7(1) of The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) enables an authority to extend the 20 working day limit up to 40 working days if it reasonably believes that the complexity and volume of the information requested means that it is impracticable either to comply with the request within the earlier period or to make a decision to refuse to do so. The deadline by which you can expect our final response is 19/03/2024.
As your request is a request for information relating to the environment, this has been logged as a request under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) and will be dealt with under the Regulations. The reference number for your request can be found above.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at the email address below if you have any queries.
Yours sincerely,
Sheffield City Council
PO Box 1283
Sheffield, S1 1UJ
Email: FOI@sheffield.gov.uk
These are the questions that are still awaiting a reply.
3avii. How many controlled parking zones will be introduced in 2024?
3bii. Will the Council publish a climate change risk register in 2024? Sheffielders need to know about the increased risk of flooding and other extreme weather events to their homes and workplaces.
3bix. Does the Council have plans to raise income for climate action from property development in 2024?
3bxi. Will the Council support the divestment of the council’s pension investments from fossil fuel companies in 2024?
3cii. Will the Council ban the use of pesticides on all Council-owned and managed land.
3ciii. Will the Council ensure at least two-thirds of the wildlife sites in the city boundary are in positive conservation management.
3dii. Will the Council lobby the Government to enable more climate action in 2024?
3dvi. Is the council actively enforcing Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards of homes in the private rented sector? How many compliance or enforcement notices were carried out the last financial year 2022/23. Will this improve in 23/24?
3fi. Will the council commit to building all future council-owned or managed housing to a high energy efficiency or operationally net-zero standard in 2024?
3fii. A fabric-first approach to building design involves prioritising the building envelope (walls, roofs, floors, windows, and doors) to create a high-performance, energy-efficient building. Will the Council require developers to use a fabric-first approach in new developments in 2024?
3fiii. Will the Council require developers to carry out a whole life cycle carbon assessment of new build developments in 2024?
3fiv. Will the Council remove minimum parking requirements for new residential homes in 2024?
3fv. Will the Council require 20%, or above, onsite renewable energy generation for new building development in 2024?
3gi. How will the Council reduce use of single-use plastics in 2024? Will it
*install water drinking fountains on the council estate/public spaces
*ban plastic cups for water
*reduce plastic packaging
*reduce the use of plastic cutlery (forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks), plates, straws, beverage stirrers, balloon sticks or food and cup containers made of expanded polystyrene; including their covers and lids at their external events.
3gii. Will the council reduce single-use plastic at external events on council land, property or public spaces such as roads and parks in 2024?
3giii. Will the council take steps to support a circular economy locally in 2024? Will it provide funding or space for a repair cafe? Will it provide funding or space for exchange shops?
3giv. How will SCC work with food groups in 2024 to increase our food production and make Sheffield more resilient to the problems global heating is bringing?
3gv. Can the council support initiatives to redistribute surplus food in 2024? Can it support an organisation that redistributes surplus food within the area through funding, staff or other ways (such as being listed as a partner of the project).
3gvi. We appreciate that kerbside food recycling has been investigated but found to be too expensive due to the Veolia contract. How will the Council improve the promotion of home composting and wormeries in 2024?
3gvii. Sheffield’s recycling rate in 22/23 was 28% plus a further 5% composting. How will SCC improve these figures in 2024?
3gviii. Sheffield needs to reduce the amount of waste it produces. What is the annual residual waste in kg per household in the area? What measures will SCC take to encourage waste reduction in 2024?
Tell the Truth Sheffield 