Agenda item

Deputations, Petitions and Public Questions

Meeting of Council, Wednesday, 18th September, 2024 2.00 pm (Item 36.)

To receive any requests for Deputations, Presentation of Petitions or Public Questions.

Minutes:

The Council received and noted the following deputation:

(i) Housing issues that effect so many of the citizens of Southampton and Mental Health and Wellbeing – Ms Karen Rogers

(ii) Empty Properties in the City – Honorary Alderman Derek Burke

The Council received four Public Questions on the same theme Proposed Plant Based Treaty for Southampton which was responded to by Councillor Savage, Cabinet Member for Green City and Net Zero.

QUESTION 1 - Laura Hunt

More than 80% of farmland worldwide is used to farm animals yet provides only 18% of calories. The UK is no exception to this fact. In fact, if every country ate and consumed like the UK, we would need another planet the size of Mercury to feed everyone. Globally, it is estimated that a transition towards a plant-based food system would allow the release of more than three-quarters of farmland back to nature, whilst providing the opportunity to repurpose land to absorb carbon.

Other councils like Edinburgh, Norwich, Haywards Heath, Lambeth and Exmouth have endorsed the Plant Based Treaty and are implementing positive changes that are helping normalise plant-based food and encouraging people to eat more of them.

Exmouth is transitioning catering at climate events to 100% plant-based. Edinburgh is introducing carbon labelling in schools. Haywards Heath are creating test cases for plant-based food at events and all of them have been involved in public education campaigns. Amsterdam has committed to Vegan Fridays in public institutions. Edinburgh’s Plant Based Treaty action plan is the most ambitious in the UK. I ask this council - are we serious about climate change and we ready to join these climate leading councils. And if not, what is stopping us?

ANSWER

Southampton City Council's Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2023-2030 includes an action to ‘Work with partners to make progress on becoming a sustainable food city’ (p.57). To progress this, Southampton City Council’s Public Health team is facilitating the development of a Food Partnership using the resource of a Public Health Specialty Registrar funded by the NHS.

Cllr Finn, Cabinet Member for Adults and Health, updated the Health & Wellbeing Board on this matter at its meeting of 4 September 2024 (Agenda for Health and Wellbeing Board on Wednesday, 4th September, 2024, 5.30 pm / paper). There were three recommendations made in this paper, as follows, each of which were supported by the Board:

· Health and Wellbeing Board members support the development and growth of the city-wide food partnership, including a bid to become a Sustainable Food Place member

· Health and Wellbeing Board members provide system leadership by promoting food partnership efforts in their own respective organisations and encouraging active contribution to the food partnership.

· The Health and Wellbeing Board provides a degree of governance and oversight by reviewing the progress of the city-wide food partnership in 12 months’ time.

The framework offered by Sustainable Food Places identifies 6 key issues that should be addressed together to achieve fundamental food system change - one of which is around tackling the climate and nature emergency through sustainable food and farming and an end to food waste.

It is hoped that through this approach, SCC can work with partners to develop and implement an action plan to make our local food system healthier and more sustainable. Progress will be monitored through the Health and Wellbeing Board; any relevant climate change related recommendations arising from the Food Partnership's work will be incorporated into Southampton City Council’s climate change strategy and action plan.

Debbie Ward/Ian Collins

QUESTION 2 - Sarah Abbott

Last December, the UK, signed a COP28 declaration pledging to incorporate food system impacts into Climate Action Plans before COP30.

Many city climate action plans do not address food consumption. Most food consumed in cities is imported which mean their emissions are not included in net zero strategies which look at things produced in the city. The Southampton City Council Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan could be bolder by calculating the city’s consumption based greenhouse gas emissions, setting targets to reduce them and implementing a Plant Based Treaty action plan to deliver real reductions in food emissions.

Edinburgh Council looked at their food consumption emissions and found that half came from meat consumption alone. They started their Plant Based Treaty journey by conducting a detailed impact assessment which looked at how endorsing would effect the city. As a result, they endorsed and developed a comprehensive Plant Based Treaty action plan. Would the council look at Edinburgh’s impact assessment and action plan and refer it to the relevant scrutiny committee to conduct a similar assessment for Southampton?

ANSWER

· Health and Wellbeing Board members support the development and growth of the city-wide food partnership, including a bid to become a Sustainable Food Place member

· The Health and Wellbeing Board provides a degree of governance and oversight by reviewing the progress of the city-wide food partnership in 12 months’ time.

QUESTION 3 - Dom De Vitto

I would like to inquire why Southampton has not moved towards more plant-based foods and what obstacles prevent it from endorsing the Plant Based Treaty? This treaty promotes the benefits of Southampton residents eating more fruits and vegetables, which is beneficial for both our health and the health of our planet.

Currently, only 28% of adults consume the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables daily, and for children, this figure is a concerning 18%. This trend is likely to lead to poor health choices in the future. A 2023 analysis by the Office of Health Economics found that adopting plant-based diets in England could save the NHS £6.7 billion annually. Even if people merely replaced meat in their weekday lunches, over 11,000 new cases of Type 2 Diabetes could be prevented each year, and 366,000 fewer people would suffer from cardiovascular disease, a major killer and life-limiting illness. Simply put, the closer we get to a plant-based diet, the more benefits we will see, and even small changes will have immediate benefits for the most vulnerable in our community.

Like other cities that support the Plant Based Treaty, Southampton could reduce costs, improve health outcomes, and be seen as a leader in public education by encouraging reduced meat and dairy consumption across the city. This can be achieved by promoting the benefits of plant-based foods.

Councillors and council staff could lead by example by showcasing plant-based food at their meetings and events. Such food is cheaper, more nutritious, and meets the diverse religious needs of our communities, while also being visually appealing. It is contradictory to speak of being “one community” and then segregate groups based on dietary and religious preferences.

This initiative is not about removing choice but about levelling the playing field, helping people make healthier choices, reducing costs (a compelling argument in itself), and bringing the people of Southampton together for a better environment and closer communities.

ANSWER

· Health and Wellbeing Board members support the development and growth of the city-wide food partnership, including a bid to become a Sustainable Food Place member

· The Health and Wellbeing Board provides a degree of governance and oversight by reviewing the progress of the city-wide food partnership in 12 months’ time.

QUESTION 4 - Joel Matthews

My fiance, Keira, and I will become parents for the first time in October, and I’m worried about the world my child will inherit. We are not on track with our climate commitments. We are facing climate breakdown with unprecedented killer heat waves, flooding and sea level rise, forest fires, millions of climate refugees, food shortages and civil unrest as areas of the planet become uninhabitable.

There are some very simple solutions which we can easily implement today that will prevent catastrophe. Did you know that even if we stopped all fossil fuel production today, food emissions alone would exceed the 1.5 limit and 2C targets of the Paris Agreement? Therefore there is no climate solution without a shift in our diets. Food accounts for a third of greenhouse emissions, and most of that comes from meat and dairy consumption. In fact, a recent analysis of UK diets found that food emissions could be slashed by 75% with plant-based diets.

Please can Southampton Council join 30 cities worldwide by endorsing the Plant Based Treaty and committing to a Plant Based Action plan?

ANSWER

· Health and Wellbeing Board members support the development and growth of the city-wide food partnership, including a bid to become a Sustainable Food Place member

· The Health and Wellbeing Board provides a degree of governance and oversight by reviewing the progress of the city-wide food partnership in 12 months’ time.