Summary:
The Retrofit London project has been established by London local authorities to take forward their common ambition, articulated in the London Councils’ Joint Statement on Climate Change, of achieving an average Energy Performance Certificate B rating across all London properties by 2030 through a programme of home retrofit. The project is led by LB Enfield and LB Waltham Forest as the lead local authorities for this climate programme and they have worked with the London Housing Directors’ Group to take it forward. The Retrofit London Housing Action Plan was agreed in 2021 by all London Housing Directors, a governance structure is in place to support collaboration (including with London Councils which has been providing its usual administrative and policy support to its 33 participating London local authorities), and an implementation plan to deliver the Programme across London has been finalised.
A dedicated budget is needed to fund creation of a Programme Management Office to deliver the pan-London Programme alongside the activities of individual local authorities. A coalition of willing London local authorities (following decisions by a majority of Housing Directors) have agreed to provide contributions to fund the Programme Management Office. On 9 June 2022 LB Waltham Forest’s Cabinet authorised the local authority to be appointed as the Lead Authority for delivery of the Retrofit London programme, subject to a formal agreement by and with London Councils.
As noted above, Leaders Committee is already jointly discharging for the 33 London local authorities the following functions in support of the Retrofit programme: policy development, consultation and co-ordination; lobbying of and liaison with Government (including HMG and the GLA); dissemination of information and events; and secretariat and office support. It is intended that London Councils would appoint LB Waltham Forest to procure or provide professional advice, employ staff, and negotiate and execute related contracts as required to support the continuation of this work.
This report seeks approval to progress this arrangement, with London Councils appointing LB Waltham Forest as a Lead Authority under the Leaders’ Committee’s Governing Agreement. The decision would allow London Councils to collect subscriptions from participating local authorities and pay these funds to LB Waltham Forest to meet the costs incurred by that authority in delivering the Programme Management Office. This is subject to an agreement being drafted and entered into with the LB Waltham Forest to clearly set out the arrangements.
