In July, the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Cllr Howard Sykes MBE wrote to Lord Wallace, co-sponsor of the Deregulation Bill and Liberal Democrat Leader in the House of Lords.

In his letter, Cllr Sykes asked Lord Wallace to ensure that the new legislation: “contains the necessary clauses to permit Parish and Town Councils to be able to sell electricity that they produce through investment in renewable sources”. It was generally understood that parish councils did not already have the necessary powers to do this.

Both the National Association of Local Councils and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Local Democracy were in support of Cllr Sykes’ position.

In an initial response, Lord Wallace invited Cllr Sykes to play his part in drafting the necessary amendment to the legislation, but on 1st September, after making further enquiries of fellow ministers, Lord Wallace wrote back to Cllr Sykes telling him that:

“The Government considers that Parish and Town Councils already have access to powers that allow them to sell electricity…As such, the concessions that you refer to are not necessary”.

Lord Wallace urges Cllr Sykes to: “use this correspondence to encourage all councils to use the general power of competence”. This will allow them to invest in renewable energy projects.

Cllr Sykes said: “I am delighted that, following my intervention, my Liberal Democrat colleague Lord Wallace and other Government ministers have responded so positively in confirming that parish councils have the legal powers to go green. This will allow parish councils to play a full part in the renewable energy revolution, and join with 5,000 other community groups that have already invested in green technology”.

“I have now written to the Parish Clerks and Chairmen of both the Saddleworth and Shaw and Crompton Parish Councils and the Chief Executive of the National Association of Local Councils giving them the good news”.