Issue - meetings

(A)       Mr Boulter asked the following question of the Leader or his nominee:

"1.       Does the Leader support the idea that an endowment fund should be established to give a greater degree of independence to the Bradgate Park Trust and to provide funds for new initiatives, leaving existing funding channels to meet the costs of ongoing management and upkeep of the Park?

2.         Would the Leader support the making of a contribution to any such fund by the County Council?"

Mr White replied as follows:

"1.       I am advised that the Bradgate Park Trust established two endowment funds in 2006 and the Trust is actively seeking contributions.

2.         No doubt the Trust would be delighted to receive a contribution for the endowment from the County Council or indeed the City Council who is the other Holding Trustee for Bradgate Park.  Mr Boulter may know if a similar question is being asked of the City Council.  It is a matter of priorities and I note that no request for a contribution to the Endowment Fund has been made to the County Council by the Trust.  I also note that the letter requesting the 2008/2009 annual contribution by the County Council to the Bradgate Park Trust maintains that the Trustees “are very conscious of the financial pressure faced by the Holding Trustees” and have therefore retained the level of requested annual contributions at the same level (in cash terms) for the last 5 years."

(B)       Mr Houseman asked the following question of the Leader or his nominee:

            "Energy firm Npower recently announced that electricity prices for its domestic customers will rise by 12.7% while gas bills will see a 17.2% increase.  Furthermore, it was highlighted that some customers in the East Midlands face a rise of almost 27% in electricity prices and 24% for gas.

Does the Leader agree that this regional variation in pricing discriminates against people in Leicestershire and that some of our most vulnerable residents, including older people, will be forced to choose between heating and other essentials as fuel bills rise?"

Mr Sprason replied as follows:

"Energy supply companies are justifying the regional variation in price by the variation in costs of transportation, particularly of gas.  In addition to Npower, British Gas has recently made changes to its pricing structure with the remaining companies likely to follow.  Parts of the East Midlands, including Leicestershire, are particularly vulnerable to these price variations due to their distance from current gas delivery and storage locations.

Many energy analysts anticipate that high and rising energy prices are likely to continue.  It is therefore likely that people in the East Midlands will continue to feel the pressure of rising costs and our vulnerable residents will indeed find themselves at increased risk of fuel poverty.  The number of households in fuel poverty has increased from 5.7% in 2004 to 8.1% in 2005 (State of the Region Report 2008). 

I recognise that these issues are a priority for our region and for Leicestershire.  These increased charges are likely to exacerbate the problem of fuel poverty and impose an additional burden on our vulnerable residents.

There is a need to raise these matters with the appropriate bodies. I will, therefore, undertake to write to the Regional Minister, Phil Hope MP, and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) to raise both the potential of gas storage within our region and the issue of regional variations in price. In addition, I will write to Ofgem about the regional variations in prices and the possibility of additional support for fuel poverty measures through  ...  view the full minutes text for item 135