The Skills Economy and Growth Scrutiny Commission noted the minutes of its previous two meetings, on 17 January 2024 and 21 February 2024. They also noted the Executive's response to comments they had previously submitted on the draft Sustainable Insourcing and Procurement Strategy.

Planning Policy, Net Zero and Existing Buildings

The commission received a presentation from officers and external guests on the relationship between planning policy and the council's net zero targets. The meeting focused on the challenge of reducing the carbon footprint of the borough's many heritage buildings.

Cllr Guy Nicholson, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Delivery, Inclusive Economy & Regeneration, and officers from the Planning and Building Control team presented on behalf of the council. They explained that the council has a proactive approach to retrofitting existing buildings, including heritage assets, to reduce their carbon emissions.

In Hackney 80% of applications for low carbon measures e.g. solar panels on listed buildings are approved. If applications have not been approved, alternative ways to improve carbon efficiency have been identified.

Natalie Broughton, Assistant Director, Planning and Building Control, Minutes 17012024 Skills Economy and Growth Scrutiny Commission

The officers explained that Historic England, the public body that looks after England's historic environment, had provided guidance and worked with the council to find solutions that reduce carbon emissions from heritage assets without harming their historic value. For example, they had worked with the council and Lynch Architects, a firm based in Hackney, on plans to improve the energy efficiency of 195 Mare Street, a Grade II* listed building in Hackney.

Westminster City Council, a local authority with a very large number of heritage assets, also presented to the commission. They described the work of their Retrofit Task Force, set up to investigate the challenge of reducing carbon emissions from the city's building stock, especially its many listed buildings. The task force is exploring innovative planning mechanisms, such as local listed building consent orders and heritage partnership agreements, to accelerate retrofit.

Economic Development Plan Update

The commission received an update on the council's work to develop a new Economic Development Plan (EDP). The plan is being developed in response to a perceived need to make the borough's economy more inclusive and to address a trend of residents being excluded from the benefits of Hackney's economic success.

The commission heard about the council's work developing a Responsible Business Charter. The charter will define what it means to be a responsible business in Hackney and encourage businesses to adopt practices that benefit the environment, their workers, and the local community. The council will promote the charter at the Mayor's Business Event on 13 March 2024.

The idea behind this piece of work emanated from a previous scrutiny commission meeting discussion about businesses social responsibilities and a social business charter.

Michael Toyer, Economic Development Manager, Minutes 21022024 Skills Economy and Growth Scrutiny Commission

The council also provided an update on its work to support social businesses in the borough. The council is developing an evidence base of the borough's social enterprise sector and hopes to publish a report in the future. The council is also looking at its procurement processes to understand how it can better support social businesses.