Response 3550939

Response to request for information

Reference

3550939

Response date

13 September 2024

Request

In particular, please supply me with information relating to the following questions:

1a. How many staff does the Council directly employ (excluding contractors or subcontractors, and excluding teachers), that work directly for the Council as opposed to a school, leisure centres or other venture?

1b. How many directly employed staff spend 3 or more days per week (0.6 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)) on implementing the Climate Action Plan or other climate change projects? Please provide a list of all the roles. Please exclude waste management staff unless they are specifically working 3 or more days per week on implementing the Climate Action Plan or other climate change projects.

If you have answered yes to have a biodiversity planning officer and/or a retrofit staff member below, both these staff members can be included in this question even if they are contracted. This is likely to include all staff in your climate/sustainability team, such as Climate Change Officers or similar. This may include full time staff who spend 60% of their time on climate change projects and 40% of their time on other work.

You might include other staff in other departments, such as a procurement officer if they are spending 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE) on writing and implementing a sustainable procurement policy or a planner that is working primarily on low carbon policies for new buildings.

Does the council have one or more staff members who work on home energy efficiency retrofitting, such as retrofit officers or project managers across the council area, for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE)? This can include both directly employed and contracted staff, provided they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE). The work of this officer may include working on any retrofit projects, including council buildings, council homes or private rented or owned households.

Please list any roles that work in this area, including the full time equivalent (FTE) if they work part time.

Please include staff members that are shared with other councils, such as between county and district councils, and note if they are shared across other areas.

How many planning ecologists or equivalent working for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE) does the council employ to scrutinise planning reports and/or applications for improvements to biodiversity and/or Biodiversity Net Gain? This can include both directly employed and contracted staff, provided they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE).

Planning ecologists are ecologists that scrutinise planning applications on biodiversity measures. They often sit within the planning department but they can sit within other departments in the council. If the planning ecologist does sit outside the planning department it must be made clear that the planning ecologist spends 3 days or more per week (0.6 FTE) scrutinising planning applications.

Please include staff members that are shared with other councils, such as between county and district councils, and note if they are shared across other areas.

Response

Communities Manager
Team Manager – Environment
Project Manager
Senior Ecologist and Sustainability Officer Assistant Ecologist and Sustainability Officer Recycling Support Officer

Planning Lead Specialist developing higher sustainability code for developers
Deputy CEO – putting sustainability standards into council business
Communities Team Lead Specialist leading on Carbon Net 0 by 2030
Communities Project Manager – leading on delivering leisure centre decarbonisation projects
Finance Lead Specialist (Deputy 151 Officer) for sustainable scope 3 procurement mapping

Does the council have one or more staff members who work on home energy efficiency retrofitting, such as retrofit officers or project managers across the council area, for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE)? This can include both directly employed and contracted staff, provided they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE). The work of this officer may include working on any retrofit projects, including council buildings, council homes or private rented or owned households.

Yes we have a proactive collaboration between Eon, Nottingham Energy Partnership, Synergize and Thrift Energy which has delivered energy efficiency and renewable energy systems to hundreds of fuel poor homes across the Borough. In staff terms, this approx. 10 members of FTE across the organisations excluding installation teams.

It is worth noting that Rushcliffe Borough Council no longer holds its own social housing stock and therefore the decarbonisation responsibilities are that of the Registered Providers such as Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, but we do work with them on schemes such as Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

Please list any roles that work in this area, including the full time equivalent (FTE) if they work part time.

Team Manager – Environment
Senior Ecologist and Sustainability Officer Assistant Ecologist and Sustainability Officer

Please include staff members that are shared with other councils, such as between county and district councils, and note if they are shared across other areas.

How many planning ecologists or equivalent working for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE) does the council employ to scrutinise planning reports and/or applications for improvements to biodiversity and/or Biodiversity Net Gain? This can include both directly employed and contracted staff, provided they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE).
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Please include staff members that are shared with other councils, such as between county and district councils, and note if they are shared across other areas.

FOI Environment