Agenda item

Having complied with the Motions Procedure as set out in the council’s Constitution the motion attached will be proposed by Cllr Moss and if duly seconded it will then be discussed at this meeting.

The Chair explained that with regard to the motion submitted by Cllr Moss and following advice from the Monitoring Officer it had come to light that section 239 of the Local Government Act 1972 requires motions promoting a Bill of Parliament to be publicised in the press no less than 30 days before their discussion at a separate special meeting of Full Council. She added that Cllr Moss had consulted with Cllr Plant who submitted a major amendment to the motion and agreed to amend his motion in order that it could be heard.

Cllr Moss then proposed his amended motion which had been circulated to members prior to the meeting. This was seconded by Cllr Sharp. The Motion was as follows:

This Council notes:

·         Local authorities play a central role in creating sustainable communities, particularly through the provision of locally generated, renewable electricity.

• The very large setup and running costs associated with selling locally generated renewable electricity to local customers prevent local renewable electricity generators from doing so.
• Making these financial costs proportionate to the scale of a renewable electricity supplier’s operation would create significant opportunities for councils to supply locally generated renewable electricity directly to local people and businesses.
• Revenues received by councils from the sale of local renewable electricity can be used to help fund measures to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions and to help fund local services and facilities.
• The recent reintroduction of the Local Electricity Bill.  If enacted the new law would make the setup and running costs of selling renewable electricity to local customers proportionate by establishing a Right to Local Supply.
• This Bill has received the support of 280 Members of Parliament. (November 8^th 2021)
• We should make every attempt to build a sustainable Britain after the Coronavirus crisis has passed. Our support for the Bill and this motion helps us achieve that.

Council resolves to:

1.    Ask Greg Hands, Minister of State at the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial strategy, to support the Local Electricity Bill.

2.    Ask our local Member of Parliament, Gillian Keegan, to support that Bill.

Cllr Moss explained that the third resolution in the original Motion had been removed. He added that the reason for the Motion was to request support from all members at Full Council rather than the Environment Panel members only.

Cllr Plant explained that the first and fourth bullet points above did not apply to the debate.

Cllr Oakley asked for information on the advice that was made available to the Environment Panel and the Cabinet Member in making the decision on involvement in the electricity supply market. Cllr Plant clarified that there are no financial implications as the Bill is currently a concept. She added that it had been through the Environment Panel twice.

Cllr O’Kelly requested clarification on when members and residents would have been made aware of the decision of the Environment Panel and letter issued if the Motion had not been brought forward. Cllr Plant confirmed that a press release had been issued.

Cllr Page explained that he needed more information on the cost implication in order to make an informed decision.

Cllr Apel asked whether the Bill would be able to help with the current increase in electricity bills.

Cllr Lintill responded by explaining that the Bill is not confirmed so council is asked to support a principle at his stage. Mrs Shepherd confirmed this was correct.

Cllr Lintill added that she had already asked the Local MP for her support as stated in resolution two.

The Chair asked Cllr Moss to read his Motion prior to a vote.

In a vote the Motion as amended was carried as follows:

Council resolves to:

1. Ask Greg Hands, Minister of State at the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial strategy, to support the Local Electricity Bill.
2. Ask our local Member of Parliament, Gillian Keegan, to support that Bill.