Essex swings the axe on net-zero policies – what is being cut?

Reform UK vowed to ditch "net stupid zero" policies when it took over Essex County Council in May – and the axe has started swinging.

Backing for a host of green initiatives has been withdrawn in what the newly elected administration says will save the taxpayer almost £3m.

However, critics at County Hall argue redundancy payments and the intake of fewer eco-friendly grants will outweigh any savings made.

The decision was made on Thursday – but what are the arguments for and against it?

The headline is Essex County Council has scrapped all of its "net-zero and greenhouse gas reduction" policies.

It will no longer commit to being a net-zero organisation by 2030, and support has already been severed for the Essex Climate Action Commission.

Of the money Reform says it will save, £2.3m is in staff costs, £300,000 in non-staff costs and £360,000 in swapping council resources with external funding.

Some of the savings are:

• Reducing activity with schools to encourage active travel by families*
• No longer electrifying the council's vehicle fleet
• Removing a requirement to consider the climate when evaluating new contracts
• Not applying for net-zero related grants unless they have clear financial gains
• No longer producing an annual climate report

Reform says the savings will be delivered over the next four years.

*The council says it aims to cover this with external funding, yet to be secured

Stephen Robinson, a Liberal Democrat, believes that rather than saving money, the anti-net-zero approach will cost Essex taxpayers.

"It might not save any money at all this year because they've got to pay for a lot of staff to [be made] redundant," he says.

While a council report shows that the redundancies will save Essex £2.3m in wages, it does not state how much it will have to pay in severance packages.

Robinson says fewer grants – which save the council money – will be applied for if many of the staff who bid for them are sacked.

He also questions if the benefits of Reform's decision will ever be felt, as the council is due to be disbanded under local government reorganisation – something the administration is challenging.

"The county council is unlikely to exist in two years' time, so you won't be making those savings anyway," he explains.

Essex's own director of public health has advised there is a risk that fewer children will walk, cycle or wheel to school if there is less active travel planning with schools.

"We think it's irresponsible to look at cutting things which are helping children on safe routes to school," Robinson adds.

One piece of help previously supported by the council led to a couple in Braintree having their energy bills drop from £375 a month to £40.

However, Robinson says this will not be promoted by Reform.

Braintree district Green councillor James Abbott says it is "highly regrettable and hugely ironic" that the environment is not being prioritised during what could become England's hottest summer on record.

"It's completely accepted that the UK on its own can't solve climate change... But we can contribute and we can be a leader as well," he says.

Since Reform took over in Essex, it has argued that while climate change is real, it is not man-made – a verdict disputed by most scientists.

Deputy leader Russell Quirk says the council is responsible for "about 0.00029% of the [carbon] emissions in this country".

He believes by "cancelling the nonsense", the taxpayer will be better off.

• What moves has Reform made since taking power in Essex?

The £3m can be spent on repairing thousands of potholes or a year's social care for 75 elderly adults, Quirk argues.

He is confident there are plenty of jobs at County Hall for anyone made redundant to apply for, and that enough staff will be left to bid for grants.

Policies that are related to flood management and nature will remain in place.

"The only things that have been cancelled are the fluffy, ideological, discretionary elements that have no merit and no value," Quirk says.

"We cannot ourselves dictate or influence global temperatures, and anyone who thinks we can needs to give their head a wobble."

Quirk says there is no need for the council to be "telling parents which routes to drive to school to save carbon" and that external funding will be secured to engage with schools on this.

He insists no budget has been cut as the highways department is responsible for school travel planning assistance.

The council report confirms it will continue to deliver "substantial active travel investment" by the Department for Transport.

Quirk adds: "In making this decision, we have put the real needs of Essex people first and the lunacy of a pointless quest for net-zero utopia a very distant second."

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