Report of the Director of Public Health

This report builds on previous health scrutiny reports “An Introduction to the Impact of Climate Change on Health and Healthcare in Manchester” (February 2022) and “Climate Change - The Impact of the Recent Heatwave” (December 2022). It provides a brief overview of how and why climate change impacts the health of Manchester residents and what activities are underway to monitor and mitigate these impacts.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Public Health that built upon previous health scrutiny reports “An Introduction to the Impact of Climate Change on Health and Healthcare in Manchester” (February 2022) and “Climate Change - The Impact of the Recent Heatwave” (December 2022).

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         Providing a brief overview of how and why climate change impacted the health of Manchester residents and what activities were underway to monitor and mitigate these impacts;

·         Discussion of the impact of climate change on NHS Organisations in Manchester;

·         Discussion of the impact of climate change on the food system;

·         Discussion of the impact of climate change on migration;  

·         Mitigation, adaptation and emergency response;

·         Activities to reduce carbon emissions;

·         Activities to reduce air pollution;

·         Discussion of adaptation to climate change;

·         Adaptation to air pollution;

·         Heatwave Plan, noting the importance of having robust emergency response plans in case of severe adverse weather events;

·         Recognising the co-benefits to health from climate action, such as the increased provision of greenspace and/or the promotion of active travel;

·         Describing how work undertaken as part of the Making Manchester Fairer strategy helped to recognise and minimise health inequalities exacerbated by climate change; and

·         Next steps.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

·         What was being done to communicate climate change activities with residents;

·         Paying tribute to the work undertaken by staff to support and assist residents in receipt of Adult Social Care in the Didsbury East Ward during the evacuation of homes as a result of flooding;

·         Did the introduction of the 30mph speed limit on Princess Road / Princess Parkway improve air quality;

·         Noting the cost of living crisis and the pressures experienced by residents and how this impacted on their ability to make informed choices, such as purchasing an electric car to reduce their carbon emissions; and

·         Noting the impact of housing and the ability to regulate temperature during extreme weather events and the impact this had on health.

The Committee heard from Councillor Shilton Godwin, Chair of Environment, Climate Change and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Committee. She provided a testimony that had been provided by a medical practitioner that described the detrimental health impacts poor air quality had on young people. She concluded by emphasising the need to consider climate change as a health issue.

Dr Laura Parker, Specialist Trainee Registrar in Public Health stated that car idling was a particular issue that contributed to poor air quality. In regard to the specific question raised regarding the impact of reducing speed limits to 30mph and air quality, she advised that any analysis of this would be circulated.

Anna Bond, Deputy Director Manchester Climate Change Agency responded to the discussion regarding housing during extreme weather events. She said that the refreshed Climate Change Framework included a number of work streams that included retrofitting of domestic properties and net zero building standards. She also stated that the importance of access to green space was recognised and all the work was devised through the lens of Making Manchester Fairer.

The Executive Member for Environment and Transport emphasised the need for a just transition in relation to climate change. She emphasised the need to deliver reliable, affordable and connected public transport system to provide a viable alternative to the car. She said that the ongoing delivery and roll out of the Bee Network would help deliver this ambition. She informed the Committee that the Environment, Climate Change and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Committee would be considering a suite of reports at their December meeting that include communications and resident engagement.

The Director of Public noted the comments made regarding damp and mould and advised that work was ongoing with local Housing Providers to address this. He also commented that the learning from the recent heatwaves was ongoing and referred to the weather alerts that were monitored throughout the year and forwarded to the weather alert group via an automated process, in addition to the key public health messaging at such times.

The Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Adult Social Care paid tribute to the Public Health Team for their work during periods of extreme weather events. He described that this work continued to be delivered in the absence of government leadership on the important issue of climate change.

Decision

To note the report.