Agenda item

Energy Costs

It was moved by Councillor Jack Scott, seconded by Councillor Jayne Dunn, that this Council:-

 (a)      notes with alarm that average fuel bills have increased by £300 since the Coalition Government came to power;

(b)       further notes that funding for insulation and fuel poverty projects has been cut significantly by the Government, with the end of Warm Front and other grants;

(c)        further notes the extremely short-sighted Government decision not to invest in green technology projects, such as South Yorkshire’s Carbon Capture Scheme in Hatfield;

(d)       further notes the Government’s much-vaunted Green Deal could represent a positive approach, but has been appallingly mismanaged and subject to numerous unnecessary delays;

(e)       recalls the huge success of the Free Insulation Scheme, funded through investment from the previous Government and initiated by the previous Labour Administration, which delivered improvements to over 28,000 Sheffield homes, reduced carbon emissions by 22,000 tonnes and secured energy savings to Sheffield people worth over £3.9m per year;

(f)        celebrates that the current Administration has secured resources to undertake 100 - 150 physical improvements to heating (including insulation, central heating, replacement boilers and draught-proofing where this is still needed);

(g)       further celebrates that the Administration has secured a package of support and advice, targeted where it is needed, which will include information on how to use less energy, heating controls, cold weather payments, assistance with tackling any fuel debts and benefits advice and help with energy tariffs;

(h)       hopes that the positive outcomes the Administration will achieve will help to inform future schemes that further reduce fuel poverty in the City and calls on the Government to take significantly more action to tackle high energy bills;

(i)         notes the launch of the Big Sheffield Switch;

(j)         urges Sheffield residents to sign up to the scheme, which creates a mechanism for as many people as possible to register their interest in moving their energy provider through an auction held with energy supply companies;

(k)        recognises the strength in banding together to secure a much better energy deal;

(l)         understands that the people with most to gain are those who’ve never previously ‘switched’ (around 50% of the population), especially those on pre-payment meters or accounts that are just on standard tariffs;

(m)      celebrates that the significant public campaign for this scheme is at no direct cost to the Council;

(n)       believes that the “Big Sheffield Switch” further demonstrates the ability of the public sector to make lasting improvements to people’s lives and what can be achieved when people co-operate together;

(o)       recognises that the previous Administration utterly failed to undertake a collective energy scheme and warmly anticipates further Sheffield collective energy schemes in the future; and

(p)       concludes that the above actions, combined with reduced waste generation, significant increases in recycling and a clear commitment to bring forward Sheffield’s first Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, highlight Sheffield’s place as a leading environmental city.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor David Baker, seconded by Councillor Andrew Sangar, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the substitution of the following words therefor:-

(a)       supports the steps taken by the Rt. Hon. Ed Davey, M.P., the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, to promote collective switching across the UK;

(b)       is pleased to see the Council has accepted the Government’s challenge and encourages all residents to sign up to Big Sheffield Switch;

(c)        welcomes the ground-breaking Green Deal, first proposed by Liberal Democrats, which the Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment described as “fantastic news for Sheffield”;

(d)       supports further actions the Coalition Government is taking to tackle fuel poverty, including:

(i)         reversing the previous Government’s planned cut to Cold Weather Payments, which are targeted at the most vulnerable;

(ii)        reducing fuel bills for 2 million families by up to £130 through the Warm Home Discount; and

(iii)       rolling out a ‘smart meter’ programme, which helps people save money and ensures energy companies meet demand more efficiently;

(e)       notes research by the Department of Energy & Climate Change, which demonstrates that the Coalition Government’s climate change policies will save consumers roughly £166 in energy bills by 2020;

(f)        highlights the importance of Liberal Democrats in Government forcing Conservative Ministers to take warnings of climate change seriously, something that has been sadly ignored by previous Governments;

(g)       recalls the previous Administration’s Decentralised Energy City Strategy, which set out a bold vision to make energy self-sufficient and allow the City to “adapt to future changes to our climate”;

(h)       furthermore, commends the previous Administration’s Free Insulation Scheme, through which over 28,000 homes in Sheffield are already benefiting from warmer homes and cheaper energy bills; and

(i)         requests that the Administration publishes a Cabinet Report on current progress against the Council’s Decentralised Energy City Strategy.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

(Note: Councillors Robert Murphy and Jillian Creasy voted for paragraph (i) and abstained on all the remaining paragraphs of the amendment and asked for this to be recorded.)

It was then moved by Councillor Robert Murphy, seconded by Councillor Jillian  Creasy, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the addition of a new paragraph (p) as follows, and the re-lettering of original paragraph (p) as a new paragraph (q):-

“(p)      understands the need for Sheffield to contribute to energy generation and requests the current Administration to reopen the feasibility study into a windfarm at Westwood Country Park which was halted by the previous Administration.”

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

The original Motion was then put to the vote and carried, as follows:

RESOLVED: That this Council:

(a)       notes with alarm that average fuel bills have increased by £300 since the Coalition Government came to power;

(b)       further notes that funding for insulation and fuel poverty projects has been cut significantly by the Government, with the end of Warm Front and other grants;

(c)        further notes the extremely short-sighted Government decision not to invest in green technology projects, such as South Yorkshire’s Carbon Capture Scheme in Hatfield;

(d)       further notes the Government’s much-vaunted Green Deal could represent a positive approach, but has been appallingly mismanaged and subject to numerous unnecessary delays;

(e)       recalls the huge success of the Free Insulation Scheme, funded through investment from the previous Government and initiated by the previous Labour Administration, which delivered improvements to over 28,000 Sheffield homes, reduced carbon emissions by 22,000 tonnes and secured energy savings to Sheffield people worth over £3.9m per year;

(f)        celebrates that the current Administration has secured resources to undertake 100 - 150 physical improvements to heating (including insulation, central heating, replacement boilers and draught-proofing where this is still needed);

(g)       further celebrates that the Administration has secured a package of support and advice, targeted where it is needed, which will include information on how to use less energy, heating controls, cold weather payments, assistance with tackling any fuel debts and benefits advice and help with energy tariffs;

(h)       hopes that the positive outcomes the Administration will achieve will help to inform future schemes that further reduce fuel poverty in the City and calls on the Government to take significantly more action to tackle high energy bills;

(i)         notes the launch of the Big Sheffield Switch;

(j)         urges Sheffield residents to sign up to the scheme, which creates a mechanism for as many people as possible to register their interest in moving their energy provider through an auction held with energy supply companies;

(k)        recognises the strength in banding together to secure a much better energy deal;

(l)         understands that the people with most to gain are those who’ve never previously ‘switched’ (around 50% of the population), especially those on pre-payment meters or accounts that are just on standard tariffs;

(m)      celebrates that the significant public campaign for this scheme is at no direct cost to the Council;

(n)       believes that the “Big Sheffield Switch” further demonstrates the ability of the public sector to make lasting improvements to people’s lives and what can be achieved when people co-operate together;

(o)       recognises that the previous Administration utterly failed to undertake a collective energy scheme and warmly anticipates further Sheffield collective energy schemes in the future; and

(p)       concludes that the above actions, combined with reduced waste generation, significant increases in recycling and a clear commitment to bring forward Sheffield’s first Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, highlight Sheffield’s place as a leading environmental city.

(Note:  1. The Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Vickie Priestley) and Councillors Simon Clement-Jones, Shaffaq Mohammed, Robert Murphy, Jillian Creasy, Rob Frost, Sylvia Anginotti, Colin Ross, Joe Otten, Penny Baker, Diana Stimely, Roger Davison, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Denise Reaney, Ian Auckland, Anders Hanson, Katie Condliffe, David Baker, and Alison Brelsford voted for paragraphs (i) to (n) and against paragraphs (a) to (h) and (o) to (p) of the Motion and asked for this to be recorded.

2. Councillors Robert Murphy and Jillian Creasy voted for paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) to (o), against paragraph (p); and abstained on paragraph (c) of the Motion and asked for this to be recorded.)