Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 14 July, 2020 were agreed and signed as a true record.

There were no matters arising.

Report of the Director of Business, Investment and Culture

NOTE: In accordance with the Constitution, the Chair of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee, (or their nominee) will be invited to attend the meeting for this item of business to agree the need for urgency such that call-in arrangements will not apply. The reason for urgency is that the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery (LAD) Scheme was made available to Councils with the capacity to deliver between October 2020 - March 2021. As a result, the timescales for delivery are already tight, and further delay to the acceptance of the funding will reduce the time to deliver further,

The Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration considered a report of the Director of Business, Investment and Culture which indicated that Coventry City Council (CCC) has secured £530,000 funding as part of BEIS’ (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) Green Homes Grant (GHG) Local Authority Delivery (LAD) Scheme.

The scheme aims to raise the energy efficiency rating of low income and low EPC rated households (those rated at EPC Band E, F or G), allowing the council to support some of the most vulnerable residents in the City. CCC will work with our existing Affordable Warmth delivery partner, Act on Energy (AOE), to ensure all grant funding is spent by the end of this financial year (Mach 2021). AOE are a local energy conservation charity that have been procured by CCC to deliver the existing ‘Keeping Coventry Warm’ scheme, including operating an advice line for residents, and ensuring delivery of physical interventions through our existing funding streams.

The LAD scheme will be used to support at least an additional 46 low-income households within the City with £10,000 grants towards the cost of energy efficiency measures, including but not limited to, external wall insulation (EWI), cavity wall insulation (CWI), roof insulation and heat pumps. This scheme will complement the existing ‘Keeping Coventry Warm’ scheme that has been operating in Coventry for several years, by bringing in an additional £530,000 of funding to support residents under a slightly different eligibility criteria. 

This funding is essential to support some of the most vulnerable residents in the City’s  community to improve the energy efficiency of their home, make their homes warmer and reduce the levels of fuel poverty across the City. This could in turn lead to:

1.Reduction in health-related morbidity and mortality associated with living in cold homes.

2.Reduced demand for health and care services

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3.Improved energy efficiency for the houses supported, reducing their energy bills and carbon footprint.

In accordance with the Constitution, Councillor N Akhtar, Chair of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee attended the meeting for this item and agreed the need for urgency so that call-in arrangements would not apply. The reason for urgency was that the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery (LAD) Scheme was made available to Councils with the capacity to deliver between October 2020 - March 2021. As a result, the timescales for delivery are already tight and further delay to the acceptance of the funding will reduce the time to deliver further.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration:-

1)  Approves the acceptance and acts as accountable body for the grant funding from BEIS totalling £530,000 to deliver the Green Homes Grant LAD Scheme.

2)  Delegates authority to the Director of Business, Investment and Culture and the Director of Finance, following consultation with the Director of Law and Governance, to negotiate final terms and approve entry into:

a)  A Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretary of State for Business,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

There are no outstanding issues.

There were no outstanding items of business.

There were no other items of urgent public business.