The role of community partnerships in sustainable energy issues

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The role of community partnerships in sustainable
energy issues

• Peter Capener
• in association with

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What are we talking about?

• Community strategies introduced in England and
  Wales by the Local Government Act 2000 (in
  Scotland by the Local Government Scotland Act
  2003)
• To be taken forward by community partnerships
  (LSPs, England CSPs, Wales CPPs, Scotland) with
  a specific role in promoting the well-being of
  the areas they serve

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Community partnerships and associated mechanisms
NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
1. WELL-BEING POWER AND DUTY TO PROMOTE WELL-BEING
2. LOCAL/NATIONAL AGREEMENTS
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Energy White Paper

• This signalled the governments intention to
• Promote energy issues through Local Public
  Service Agreements and consider role as a shared
  central-local priority
• Urge LAs to give energy issues a priority at a
  strategic level e.g. through Community Strategies
• Encourage LAs to take the lead, acting as
  catalysts for change

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What are the opportunities?

• Community partnerships (LSPs) create
• opportunities
• To raise the profile of sustainable energy issues
• To develop a strategic approach to energy issues
• To focus the communitys resources on sustainable
  energy programmes
• To access renewal funding for sustainable energy

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Guidance

• Produced for the Local Government Operation Group
  of the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes
• Available through the EST Practical Help website
• Target audience LA21 officers, HECA officers
  and others working on energy and climate change
  issues with Local Strategic Partnerships

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Guidance - content

• Addresses
• Policy background
• How to work with Community Partnerships
• How energy fits into community planning
• The role of energy in neighbourhood renewal
• How energy relates to the setting of performance
  targets and PSAs
• Illustrated throughout with case study examples

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Community partnership structure

• Structures vary but common elements are
• Partnership groups Chief Execs and Directors
  useful to have an energy champion e.g. Director
  of energy partnership
• Implementation groups officer level important
  to have representation with energy expertise
• Thematic groups addressing key themes in
  community strategy could include housing and
  health, climate change (unlikely to have
  sustainable energy as a theme)

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Integrating sustainable energy issues into
community strategies

• Make the link between community issues/problems
• and sustainable energy solutions for example
• Housing and health fuel poverty
• Affordable housing energy efficient housing
• Environmental degradation reducing greenhouse
  gas emissions
• Generating employment energy programmes
• Also opportunities to bring in energy issues
  through sustainability appraisal of community
  strategies

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Example Devon LSP

• 2001 Stakeholder Conference
• Climate change was one of 7 issues identified as
  a priority for the LSP.
• Rural areas trying to recover from FM and BSE
  looking for ways to diversify Renewable Energy
  seen as potential new activity for rural economy
• As a consequence LSP and County Council have
  published draft Renewable Energy Strategy major
  emphasis on RE contribution to economic
  regeneration in rural area.

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The role of sustainable energy in Neighbourhood
Renewal

• Particular opportunities to bring together
  funding from energy efficiency programmes with
  Neighbourhood Renewal funding
• Energy programmes need to link into national /
  local priorities such as housing and health

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Example Sandwell HAZ
The Repairs and Prescription Scheme aims to
improve the health of asthmatic children by

• Targeting repairs to Council and private housing
  stock on household with young people who suffer
  asthma
• Providing central heating, insulation and other
  energy efficiency measures

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Setting performance targets

• In return for establishing performance targets
• within a PSA, LAs can benefit from a
• Pump priming grant
• Scope for extra borrowing
• Possible relaxations in statutory requirements
  related to the delivery of the target useful in
  innovative projects
• If the target is achieved a reward grant

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Example London Borough of Sutton
Local target framed in terms of delivering
sustainability, described by three indicators

• Increasing take up of Warm Front grants
• Reducing driving to work within the LA
• Reducing carbon emissions from a major
  regeneration scheme

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Lessons for LA officers

• Link energy issues to sustainable development
• Identify interest in sustainable energy amongst
  colleagues across authority
• Promote importance of getting involved with the
  community partnership to networks involved in
  energy
• Get a sustainable energy champion onto LSP
• Integrate energy into a range of LSP priorities
• Ensure key LA strategies/plans refer to energy
  and link to community strategy
• Follow through, build political backing
• Use LSP as a vehicle to develop climate change
  strategy
• Emphasise opportunities to bring in additional
  funding through working through LSP
• Promote successes that are achieved through LSP

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So Finally

• GET INVOLVED!
• Whats your community partnership doing?
• What can you do to influence them?
• Download your copy of the guidance from
• www.practicalhelp.org.uk/downloads/LSP_Guidance_Ma
  nual.pdf