By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
Planning is ongoing behind the scenes at Nottinghamshire County Council for how to respond to rising energy bills and their impact on families’ budgets.
However, the Conservative-led council has been accused by opposition leaders of not acting quickly enough to address the issue locally.
New Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to reveal an up to £100bn package to tackle rising energy bills and the wider cost of living crisis on Thursday (September 8).
This could include a freeze on the wholesale cost of energy prices, forcing companies to sell at a loss to drive down bills.
Further measures could include a £2,500 cap on energy bills, funded through borrowing, and plans to cut general taxes for millions of people.
Nottinghamshire County Council says it is awaiting the package outlined by Ms Truss to find out whether extra support will also be provided to local authorities.
The council is facing uncertainty of its own regarding internal gas and electricity bills, which are expected to rise significantly in the coming months.
Councillor Boyd Elliott (Con), chair of the authority’s overview committee, says preparation work is “on the way now” as departments begin to budget for further inflation rises.
And Cllr Richard Jackson (Con), portfolio holder for finance, says negotiations and assessments are being held about how much extra the council may have to pay in energy costs.
Speaking in the overview committee meeting on Wednesday (September 7), he said: “We haven’t got a figure on it because the market is volatile, it’s constantly under review and, at the moment, it’s proving to be greater than expected.”
Their comments came as Labour accused the ruling Conservatives of not acting quickly enough on its own planning, instead prioritising “property before people”.
The meeting saw a work programme for items to be discussed in scrutiny meetings over the next few months, with no items revealing wider planning for a council response to the crisis.
However, the work programme did include an ongoing review into the authority’s property portfolio – a move the council has long planned as it looks to sell off redundant buildings and save millions of pounds each year.
And Cllr Kate Foale, leader of the Labour Group, said: “It feels like you’re putting property before people.
“I want to see a proper discussion in this chamber about what our priorities are.
“Nobody cares about our property portfolio, about Top Wighay, they want to know whether or not they are going to get through this winter without getting into huge debt.”
In response, Cllr Elliott said the property review “needed to be done” and will be a quicker process, but is not being prioritised by the authority.
And Cllr Johno Lee (Con), who represents Balderton, added: “[Liz Truss’] announcement will reveal one of the largest spendings to help with the cost of living crisis.
“This council is very restricted in what it can do. We take the lead from the Government and they have the powers on spending, they make the national decisions and the policies.
“We can rush and talk about it until we’re blue in the face, but it’s about following the process and making sure we are doing the best we can to help our residents.”
But Cllr Glynn Gilfoyle (Lab), who represents Worksop East, said he doesn’t believe the Government will “solve all the problems” and says the council should be ready to help as well.
He said: “I accept there’s going to be an announcement but I would hope we can have [internal] groups so we can start scoping about how we can help.
“That’s how important it is. Ultimately, there will be impacts on the budget and I don’t think the Government will resolve all the issues.”
Speaking outside Downing Street on Tuesday, Prime Minister Ms Truss said: “I will deal hands-on with the energy crisis.
“I will take action this week to deal with energy bills and to secure our future energy supply.”
