Introduction
This guide is designed for scrutiny practitioners, councillors on scrutiny committees and the officers who support them, to help when scrutinising climate adaptation and resilience.
It includes the context you need to ask good questions, and ten questions that form the basis of effective scrutiny in this area. We have also included a short ‘jargon buster’ to help you understand any unfamiliar terms.
A note on scope: this guide focuses on adaptation and resilience – preparing for climate impacts – rather than mitigation (reducing emissions). The two are closely linked and often sit in the same council strategy, but they raise different scrutiny questions. This guide focuses on adaptation and resilience. It complements, rather than entirely supersedes, our earlier climate change scrutiny guide, parts of which may remain relevant where scrutiny is considering climate mitigation and emissions reduction.
How to use these questions
Choose the questions that fit your situation rather than working through all of them in order. The questions are designed to be quick to read and easy to act on and sit alongside our wider suite of good scrutiny practice guides.
Jargon buster
Action taken to prepare for and adjust to the effects of climate change already underway (for example, managing flood risk or extreme heat), as distinct from mitigation, which is about reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The capacity of a place, community or organisation to withstand, respond to and recover from climate-related shocks and stresses. Often used interchangeably with adaptation.
The UK Government’s statutory five-year plan for adapting to climate change, informed by the Climate Change Risk Assessment.
A statutory assessment, produced every five years, of the risks and opportunities climate change poses to the UK. The fourth assessment (CCRA4) is due in 2026.
The role held by county councils and unitary authorities, giving them statutory responsibility for managing local flood risk from surface water, groundwater and smaller watercourses.
The national strategy and funding framework covering how flood and coastal erosion risk is managed, with roles for the Environment Agency, LLFAs and other risk management authorities.
Infrastructure designed to manage surface water runoff in a way that mimics natural drainage, reducing flood risk from new development.
Actions that work with natural systems (such as tree planting, wetland restoration or green roofs) to reduce climate risk while also delivering wider environmental benefits.
The UK’s independent statutory adviser on climate change, which reports on adaptation progress and advises government on the CCRA.
Scrutiny members may also find the Local Partnerships Climate Adaptation Toolkit and Risk and Opportunities Matrix useful. The toolkit provides a practical framework for identifying local climate risks, understanding service impacts and developing adaptation plans, while the matrix helps councils consider climate risks across different service areas.
The national context
National policy and evidence matter, but your local context is just as important. Local flood risk maps, your council’s climate risk assessment, the UK Climate Change Committee’s reporting, and practical resources such as the Local Partnerships Climate Adaptation Toolkit can help you understand local exposure alongside your own knowledge and insight.
- The independent Climate Change Committee has repeatedly assessed the UK’s preparations for climate change as inadequate, and in its 2025 progress report said government must act without further delay to improve national climate resilience.
- In May 2026, the Climate Change Committee published its advice ahead of the fourth Climate Change Risk Assessment, identifying better cooling, flood protection and a more secure water supply as priorities – all areas where councils have a direct delivery role.
- Councils need clear climate risk assessments, adaptation plans and monitoring arrangements that enable effective scrutiny and oversight. Resources such as the Local Partnerships Climate Adaptation Toolkit and Risk and Opportunities Matrix can help authorities identify and assess local climate risks and track progress.
- Councils hold significant statutory powers relevant to adaptation, particularly through planning, their role as Lead Local Flood Authority, and land and asset management, even though the overall legislative picture across the UK remains complex.
- A parliamentary select committee held a call for evidence in 2026 on climate and weather resilience, covering heatwaves, drought, flooding, nature-based solutions and the resilience of critical infrastructure including food and water security.
The ten questions
1. Does the council understand its local climate risks, and is that understanding current?
Also ask:
- When was the council’s climate risk assessment last updated, and does it cover flooding, heat, drought and infrastructure vulnerability specifically for the local area?
- How does the assessment draw on national data (such as the Climate Change Risk Assessment) as well as local evidence?
Why ask this?
A generic or outdated risk assessment gives false reassurance. Scrutiny should test whether the council actually knows where its own risks lie, not just whether a document exists.
2. Is climate adaptation built into corporate and financial planning, rather than only within an environmental strategy?
Also ask:
- How are climate risks reflected in the Council’s corporate risk register?
- Does the corporate plan and medium-term financial plan reflect adaptation and resilience risks, or does this sit only in a standalone environment strategy?
- Who is accountable at senior officer and cabinet member level for adaptation, and do they have the authority to act across departments?
- What climate-related risks are regarded as the most significant strategic risk facing the organisation?
Why ask this? Climate risk can affect emergency planning and resilience, housing, social care, highways, planning and finance. Where adaptation sits only within one team or a standalone strategy, the council may not have a clear, joined-up view of the risks or of how much priority to give them. Scrutiny can test whether the council has made a conscious, corporate decision about its approach.
3. How resilient is the council’s own estate, assets and frontline services to extreme weather?
Also ask:
- Which council buildings, depots or care settings are most exposed to climate-related disruption, and what is being done about it?
- Do business continuity plans for frontline services (adult social care, waste, highways) explicitly address extreme weather scenarios?
Why ask this?
A council that hasn’t stress-tested its own operations against extreme weather risks may discover the gaps during an actual event, when it’s too late to plan calmly. Councils are Category 1 responders under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. Their duties include assessing emergency risks, using those assessments to inform contingency planning, and maintaining business continuity arrangements.
4. Is the council using its planning and Lead Local Flood Authority powers effectively to manage flood risk?
Also ask:
- Are Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) being required and properly maintained on new developments?
- How is the council working with the Environment Agency and neighboring authorities on Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) planning?
Why ask this?
Where a council holds Lead Local Flood Authority powers, this is one of its most direct ways to reduce future risk – scrutiny should test whether it’s being used proactively, not just reactively after an incident. Planning powers are a key tool for managing long-term flood risk. Scrutiny members may find Planning Advisory Service (PAS) resources on local planning evidence and environmental planning, together with national guidance on flood risk and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), useful reference points when assessing local arrangements.
5. How is the council preparing for extreme heat, and protecting the most vulnerable residents?
Also ask:
- Are care settings, schools and public buildings assessed for overheating risk, and are cooling measures being retrofitted where needed?
- Does the council have a heatwave plan that identifies and reaches the most vulnerable residents (older people, those with health conditions, people in poor-quality housing)?
- How are inequalities being considered within climate adaptation planning, and does the council understand which communities are most exposed to climate risks?
- How are residents and communities involved in shaping local resilience and adaptation plans?
Why ask this?
Heat-related harm is often underestimated compared with flooding. But rising temperatures are already causing excess deaths, particularly among vulnerable groups. This is an equalities issue as much as an environmental one.
6. Are nature-based solutions and green infrastructure part of the adaptation approach?
Also ask:
- What role do measures like tree planting, green roofs, and wetland or park restoration play in the council’s resilience strategy?
- Are these approaches being evaluated on both climate and wider benefits (health, biodiversity, community wellbeing), or treated as a nice-to-have?
Why ask this?
Nature-based solutions can be more cost-effective than hard engineering and deliver benefits beyond climate resilience alone. Scrutiny can help make sure they’re a genuine part of the strategy, not an afterthought.
7. How well prepared is the Council and its partners to respond to and recover from climate-related emergencies?
Also ask:
- How does the Council fulfil its responsibilities under the Civil Contingencies Act, and what arrangements are in place through the Local Resilience Forum (LRF)?
- Where relevant, how is the council working with strategic authorities, combined authorities or mayoral combined authorities on climate resilience and emergency planning?
- What formal arrangements exist with the Environment Agency, water companies, emergency services and neighboring authorities on shared climate risks?
- How well did multi-agency arrangements perform during the most recent extreme weather event locally, and what has changed as a result?
- Are business continuity plans in place for critical council services, and are they regularly tested against climate-related risks?
- How often are climate-related emergency scenarios exercised within the Council, and also, with partners?
- How are critical infrastructure providers, including utilities and transport operators, involved in local resilience and emergency planning?
Why ask this?
Climate risks rarely respect organisational or geographic boundaries. Our practice guide on scrutiny of partners and external organisations has more on how to test partnership working well. Climate-related emergencies require organisations to work together quickly and effectively under pressure. The real test of resilience is not whether plans exist, but whether partners can coordinate, communicate and recover effectively when an incident occurs. A strong answer will demonstrate that statutory preparedness duties are being met, that emergency and business continuity plans are regularly tested, and that the council learns from real incidents and exercises. Scrutiny should seek assurance that local arrangements are capable of protecting residents and maintaining critical services during increasingly frequent and severe weather events.
8. What is the council doing to adapt any housing stock it holds, and what role (if any) has it decided to play in helping residents adapt their own homes?
Also ask:
- Where the council retains housing stock, how is it being assessed and adapted for overheating, flood risk and water efficiency?
- What advice, grants or schemes exist to help private residents (particularly vulnerable or low-income households) adapt their own homes?
Why ask this?
Housing is one of the most direct points where climate risk affects residents’ daily lives. Councils vary in how far they go beyond their own stock into supporting private homeowners and renters, and this involves real choices about cost and about the council’s role. Scrutiny can test what the council has decided its role should be, and whether that decision is clear and deliberate.
9. Is progress on adaptation and resilience being tracked and reported, with clear accountability?
Also ask:
- Are climate adaptation risks reported through the Council’s formal risk management framework?
- What indicators does scrutiny receive on adaptation progress, and how do they compare with the ambitions set out in the council’s strategy or climate emergency declaration?
- Is there a named owner for each major adaptation action, with a realistic timeline and funding attached?
Why ask this?
Good intentions and declarations are not the same as delivery. Scrutiny should insist on a monitoring framework that makes it possible to see whether the council is actually becoming more resilient.
10. Is the council learning from extreme weather events and using this to improve resilience?
Also ask:
- Does the council carry out a formal debrief after significant flooding, wildfires, or storms, and are the lessons fed back into planning?
- How does the council’s approach compare with similar authorities that have faced comparable events?
Why ask this?
Every extreme weather event is a test of the council’s resilience plans in practice. Treating each one as a learning opportunity, rather than a one-off crisis to move past, is what distinguishes a resilient council from one that is repeatedly unprepared.
Further information and support
UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) – the UK’s independent statutory adviser on climate change, publishing regular progress reports and risk assessments relevant to local authorities.
Local Government Association, Accelerating adaptation action: Councils preparing for climate change – LGA guidance on identifying climate risks and producing a scrutiny-ready adaptation plan.
Environment Agency Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Strategy Roadmap – sets out practical national steps for improving flood resilience relevant to Lead Local Flood Authorities.
House of Commons Library briefing, Climate change adaptation and resilience in the UK – a regularly updated overview of national policy and progress.
UK Parliament Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Climate and weather resilience inquiry – for the latest select committee evidence and findings on resilience to extreme weather.
CfGS resources:
Scrutinising the floods – our piece on how scrutiny should respond to and learn from flooding, covering community resilience and cross-service impacts on housing, planning, social care and health.
Flooding scrutiny regulations no longer in force – explains that the statutory Flood Risk Management Overview and Scrutiny Regulations sunset in 2018, and points to a still-useful 2010 LGA/CfGS flood risk scrutiny guide. cfgs.org.uk/flooding-scrutiny-regulations-no-longer-in-force/
Resilience in local government – what do we mean? – a blog unpacking what resilient governance looks like in practice, useful background for embedding adaptation corporately and holding it to account (Questions 2 and 9).
Our previous governance risk and resilience framework – our framework for anticipating, understanding and acting on risks to governance, which climate resilience sits within as a wider discipline.
Into the horizon – our piece on horizon scanning in scrutiny, using climate change as an example of a strategic risk scrutiny needs to grapple with.
Case study – Somerset West and Taunton Council – a scrutiny task and finish group that looked at funding a zero-carbon retrofit program for the council’s own housing stock, relevant to Question 8.
Demonstrating impact – a practice guide – our guide on articulating scrutiny’s impact, which discusses connecting scrutiny’s forward priorities to strategic challenges such as climate resilience. cfgs.org.uk/resource/demonstrating-impact-a-practice-guide/
All resources