A maximum of 15 minutes will be allocated to public questions submitted in writing to Democratic Services (democratic.services@trafford.gov.uk) by 4 p.m. on the working day prior to the meeting. Questions must be relevant to items appearing on the agenda and will be submitted in the order in which they were received.

The Leader of the Council advised of the receipt of a question, relevant to Agenda Item 4 (a), Executive’s Revenue Budget Proposals, as follows:

“Where is the investment for the transition to a zero carbon economy? The sooner we invest into CO2 reductions the sooner the council will achieve its strategic priority of improving wellbeing and removing health inequality of Trafford residents.”

The Executive Member for Finance and Investment responded to the question, as follows:

“Sustainability, health and wellbeing are key priorities of the Council and climate change is at the forefront of Council decision making. It has recently set a target of becoming carbon neutral by 2038 and an action plan will be developed over coming months, supported by external experts, to understand and develop the plans we need to put in place with key stakeholders across the borough to address this target.

There are a number of measures in this budget report which provide a start to this process including, substantial investment through the Mayor’s Challenge Fund in new cycling and walking schemes and a significant investment in parks and open spaces including new tree planting schemes. There are also proposals to reduce the carbon emissions at Altrincham Crematorium through the introduction of two resomation cremators and further work will be undertaken to understand the business case and financial viability of these proposals.”