Climate Emergency Manchester today presented an official petition for a seventh scrutiny committee, dedicated to climate change, at Manchester City Council’s Resources and Governance Scrutiny Committee.
After the meeting, Chloe Jeffries of Climate Emergency Manchester said:
‘We’re delighted that councillors recognised the weakness of existing climate scrutiny in Manchester, and that they were so broadly supportive of our petition. The recommendation is not exactly what we asked for, but today’s meeting moves us in the right direction. Much more needs to be done.”
During the meeting councillor Richard Leese, speaking as Leader of the Council, said he broadly agreed with the petition for climate scrutiny, but stated his opposition to the creation of a seventh committee. Councillor Leese proposed instead to alter the focus of the existing committee remits to allow more room for scrutiny of climate change.
After a debate, the Resources and Governance Scrutiny Committee decided to recommend to full Council that climate change should become a central focus of a dedicated committee, as part of a wider review.
Climate Emergency Manchester will be monitoring the next steps closely, to ensure the review follows the recommendations and the spirit of today’s debate, and to ensure that the proposal is discussed as promised at Full Council on Wednesday 31 March.
Whatever the final outcome of the revised scrutiny arrangements, Climate Emergency Manchester will continue to support citizens in keeping a watch on Manchester Council’s decisions and actions related to the climate emergency.
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