Reform leaders scrap climate change committee

Reform UK have taken charge at the county council

Opposition councillors have criticised a decision by Derbyshire County Council's new Reform UK leaders to scrap the authority's climate change committee as "short-sighted" and "threatening".

The committee, formally named the Climate Change, Biodiversity and Carbon Reduction committee, was made up of councillors from different political parties and monitored the council's ambitions on reducing Derbyshire's carbon emissions.

Reform UK's new leader of the council Alan Graves told the BBC that net zero "is not a priority".

It is understood the committee was decommissioned a week after Reform won control of the council from the Conservatives in the local elections.

Scrutinising the authority's climate targets, some of which it is legally obliged to meet, will instead be absorbed into the work of other committees.

The authority's latest annual report on delivery of its Climate Change Strategy said while there had been "significant reductions" in emissions from the council estate, the county's emissions were reducing at a slower rate than the national average.

The council indicated at the beginning of the year there would be difficulties in meeting its net zero targets going forward without securing external funding, because of "technical and economic challenges".

It has a target to become carbon neutral by 2032, with the county as a whole doing the same by 2050.

The council also noted that emissions for industry in the county remain "stubbornly high".

Derbyshire County Council's new Reform UK leadership officially took the reins on Wednesday at a meeting in Matlock

The county council's Reform UK leader Alan Graves said "We don't believe it [the committee] is of any value.

"We're about saving the council money where we don't need to spend it."

Graves could not give a figure for how much the move had saved but acknowledged it would be small.

"[Net zero] is not a priority for us...the net zero agenda is costing every single person in this country a lot of money," he said. "Why do we need to burden the people?"

Alex Dale, leader of Derbyshire Conservatives, said the decision was "short-sighted".

"I understand Reform's concerns around net zero and as a party the Conservative Party have similar concerns.

"But climate change is still happening and there are still challenges that we face as a county so I do think it's important we show leadership."

The leader of Derbyshire Greens Giz Kinsella said he had "major concerns" about the decision and that it put the council's legal duties on biodiversity at risk.

He said it could mean "no delivery on providing cheaper cleaner energy [and] no delivery on green homes for the poorest in our communities.

"All of these benefits will be threatened or undermined with the change of the committee structure," he said.

"In terms of outcomes [of the committee] there probably wasn't a lot achieved, but at least the intent was there. Now it's not there."

Derbyshire County Council has been contacted for comment.