Report of the Director of Public Health

The purpose of this report is to provide an introduction to climate change in Manchester and the city’s ambitions and activities to date. The report provides an overview of the impact that climate change is having, and is predicted to have in the future, on the health of Manchester’s residents and the potential impacts on healthcare services and facilities in Manchester.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Public Healththat provided an introduction to climate change in Manchester and the city’s ambitions and activities to date. The report provided an overview of the impact that climate change was having, and was predicted to have in the future, on the health of Manchester’s residents and the potential impacts on healthcare services and facilities in Manchester.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background, noting that in July 2019, Manchester City Council declared a Climate Emergency which recognised the need for the Council, and the city as a whole, to do more to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and mitigate the negative impacts of climate change;

·         Noting that the Our Manchester Strategy set out the commitment that ‘Manchester will play its full part in limiting the impacts of climate change’ and the subsequent Manchester Climate Change Framework 2020-25 and its four headline objectives;

·         Providing an overview of the reports published recently that had emphasised the link between climate change and its impact on health;

·         Recognising the need to consider vulnerability as well as hazard and exposure to climate change if we were able to gain a full appreciation of the risk;

·         Discussing the implications of extreme weather events and the activities in Manchester to mitigate against these;

·         Noting that air pollution presented a significant public health problem and describing the activities in Manchester to mitigate against this, including an update on the introduction of the Clean Air Zone;

·         Providing a discussion on the relationship between food and climate and providing an overview of the work of the Manchester Food Board;

·         The relationship between mental health and climate change; and

·         Health Care System and Services and the steps taken to reduce emissions.

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

·         Welcoming the establishment of the Health and Wellbeing Climate Change Advisory Group, and noting the partners involved in this group;

·         Recognising the impact that poor air quality had on health outcomes, particularly for young people and elderly residents;

·         The need to acknowledge the harmful effects of particulate matter when considering air quality;

·         The need for air quality data to be easily accessible; and

·         That a report on the climate change action plans of the local NHS Trusts be considered at an appropriate time, noting that this should include the consideration given to improving the existing estate.

Dr Raja Murugesan, Manchester Health and Care Commissioning advised that he was a member of the Manchester Climate Change Agency and Partnership. He advised that the priority for the NHS currently was post COVID recovery, and this included a green and sustainable recovery with climate change as a consideration of all decision making. He further commented that the harmful effects of particulates and poor air quality was recognised and understood.

The Head of Environment, Planning and Infrastructure advised that the issue of poor air quality was being addressed at a Greater Manchester level, in addition to the Council’s active travel plans and wider connectivity plans for the city, with particular reference to the planned improved public transport links to the Manchester Airport site. He further commented that air quality monitoring data was available on the Greater Manchester Clean Air website.

The Director of Public Health stated that the Manchester Public Health Annual Report 2018 was dedicated to the issue of air quality and would be recirculated to Members following the meeting and that air quality data continued to be monitored and reported. He suggested that a specific report on air quality could be provided to a future meeting for consideration.

The Executive Member for Environment advised that all Members had been involved in the production of their ward Climate Action Plans, noting that the relationship between climate change and health outcomes was understood. She further advised that the Council’s Climate Change Action Plan and the Manchester Climate Change Framework 2020-25 would be refreshed, and health considerations and specific actions would be incorporated. She further advised of local campaigns with schools to promote clean air and other environmental initiatives that had been supported by Neighbourhood Teams, adding that it was the intention to roll out the School Streets initiative across the city.  She further advised the Committee that a report on the work of the Manchester Food Board had been considered by the Environment and Climate Change Scrutiny Committee at their meeting of 13 January 2022.

The Chair noted that this was the first time a substantive report on health and climate change had been considered by the Committee. She stated that consideration would be given to scheduling further detailed themed reports on this important issue, noting the various specific issues that had been discussed at the meeting, such as the opportunity to consider the climate change action plans for each of the NHS Trusts in Manchester.

The Chair further stated that the relationship between health and climate change was an important issue and supported the inclusion of the specific work stream within the Marmot Build Back Fairer in Greater Manchester: Health Equality and Dignified Lives to address this.

The Deputy Leader stated that the importance and immediacy of addressing climate change was understood. She stated that she supported the Chair’s comments regarding future, deep dive reports on specific issues relating to climate change and health, adding that she would discuss this further with the Chair.

Decision

The Committee recommend that the Chair, in consultation with the Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Environment, agree the topic and scope of future quarterly reports on the issue of health and climate change, such as of interest such as air quality and food. These reports are to be included on the Work Programme and scheduled for consideration at an appropriate time.

[Councillor Appleby declared a personal and non-prejudicial interest in this item as she is an employee of the Manchester College]