On 11th March, SSN’s Local Authority Forum took place with 100 participants from local authorities across Scotland. The session included updates from the Scottish Government and COSLA, a facilitated session to discuss the draft statutory guidance for public bodies, and a workshop from the Scottish Futures Trust on estates strategy-led decarbonisation and adaptation.
The forum began with strategic updates from the Scottish Government. Hannah Neufeld, Senior Policy Advisor for Climate Change, Net Zero Public Sector, introduced the consultation on draft statutory guidance for public bodies regarding their climate change duties. She outlined the structure of the document, the consultation process, and the response deadline of 23rd May. The Scottish Government is keen to receive a wide range of views that reflect the needs of all users within public bodies.
Silke Isbrand, Policy Manager at COSLA, gave a brief update on the Climate Delivery Framework and the oversight group, which was due to meet on 12th March.
The Local Authority Sub-Committee then facilitated a breakout session on the draft statutory guidance. Participants were divided into six groups to discuss the core topics and Annex B, which includes the Climate Delivery Plan template for local authorities. The Sub-Committee collected notes from these discussions to identify key issues and understand how SSN can support the development of responses.
The workshop from the Scottish Futures Trust focused on helping local authorities work towards net zero targets through the decarbonisation and adaptation of existing estates. Representatives outlined an estate strategy-led approach that starts with understanding each public body’s core service and business needs, which then informs the route to decarbonisation. The strategy should reflect the investment hierarchy, offering a consistent method to assess long-term asset requirements and prioritise decarbonisation efforts. This supports the principle of making the most of existing assets and directing investment where it will have the greatest impact.
Authorities were encouraged to develop Estate Strategies that consider future needs, place-based priorities, and opportunities for collaboration. These strategies should identify which buildings need to be retained, how they can be adapted, and outline the business and lifecycle drivers for works through to 2045. A Construction Intervention Strategy should be developed in conjunction with this to outline the most effective times to undertake key works, including decarbonisation measures, and define the environmental outcomes to be delivered. The session concluded with an open discussion and Q&A.
The Forum is held quarterly, with the next meeting expected to be scheduled for June.