Leisure: Energy

(asked on 27th February 2023) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to support public sector leisure and sports centres with energy costs in the Spring Budget.


Answered by
James Cartlidge Portrait
James Cartlidge
Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This question was answered on 7th March 2023

Through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the Government provided an unprecedented package of support for non-domestic users, including public sector leisure and sports centres, this winter.

Wholesale gas prices have reduced significantly since the current scheme was announced and have returned to level before Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The new Energy Bills Discount Scheme will provide all eligible non-domestic energy users across the UK with a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024, following the end of the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme. Eligible public sector leisure and sports centres will therefore continue to receive energy bill support from April 2023.

The new scheme will help those locked into contracts signed before recent substantial falls in the wholesale price manage their costs and provide others with reassurance against the risk of prices rising again. The scheme will provide non-domestic users with long term certainty and reflects how the scale of the challenge has changed since September last year.

The majority of income available to Local Authorities in England through council tax, retained business rates and grant funding can be used flexibly across service areas, including support for leisure services. The 2023-24 Local Government Finance Settlement confirmed that councils in England will have access to almost £60 billion in the next financial year to deliver vital services, an average funding increase for councils of 9.4% compared to 2022-23.

Reticulating Splines