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Local Authority round-up 20/11/20

Our Local Authority round up provides brief summaries of topical information on a weekly basis, to keep you aware of the changes and updates relevant to you.

Brexit

2007 Lugano Convention laid before Parliament

The UK Government has announced that the 2007 Lugano Convention was laid before Parliament in November 2020. The Convention governs jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters between EU member states and Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. The Convention previously applied to the UK by virtue of EU membership and will continue to be treated as applying to the UK until the end of the Brexit transition period at 11.00 pm on 31 December 2020. From the end of the transition period, the Convention will no longer apply to the UK (except in transitional cases). The UK has therefore applied to accede to the Convention as a contracting state in its own right. According to the explanatory memorandum, the Convention has been laid before Parliament now, in order for the Convention to enter into force as soon as possible after the end of the transition period, if a positive response is received to the UK’s application. Therefore, the UK Government is commencing the necessary parliamentary procedure. The UK has received statements of support from Iceland, Norway and Switzerland in respect of its intention to accede to the Convention. If the UK accedes to the Convention, the UK Government intends that it will be implemented by the Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Bill. This should, in principle, ensure the continuation of the Brussels regime on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments, as the Convention mirrors the 2001 Brussels Regulation (44/2001).

For more information please click here.

Coronavirus halts trade talks

Trade talks between the UK and the EU have been suspended this week after a member of the EU team tested positive for coronavirus. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that discussions would continue in “full respect” of safety guidelines but that they have been suspended for a “short period.” As the Decemeber deadline looms for the sides to reach an agreement, fishing rights, post-Brexit competition rules and how any deal would be enforced remain key areas of disagreement.

For more information please click here.

Video: Data protection

The transition period will maintain the status quo until 31 December 2020 – but after that, are changes needed to the way in which businesses approach personal data transfers which involve transferring personal data into or out of the EU? What extra measures will you need to take to make sure international transfers of personal data remain lawful? Will you still be able to use data processors based in the EU? Will you need to change your contracts or any other documentation?

In this video data protection specialist Phil Tompkins discusses the implications of Brexit for personal data exports.

Click here to view.


Commercial

Councils to receive share of £10 million port funding

Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced that councils across England will receive a share of £10 million to support their preparations for the end of the transition period. Councils will be able to use the funding to prepare for changes at the border once the UK leaves the EU next year. Most council leaders have welcomed a funding boost to port health authorities but have warned that ‘many uncertainties’ remain for councils. Cllr Kevin Bentley, chair of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) EU Exit Taskforce, welcomed the cash injection but said that the additional work that was needed to be done to prepare the UK border for the end of the transition period was ‘extremely challenging’ and he warned that ‘many uncertainties remain for councils.’

For more information please click here.


Regulatory

FSA consults on Food Law Code of Practice and Food Law Practice Guidance

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a consultation on proposals to amend the Food Law Code of Practice (the Code) and Food Law Practice Guidance (the Practice Guidance) which set out instructions and criteria to which councils and port health authorities, in England and Wales, and District Councils in Northern Ireland must have regard to when discharging their duties in relation to the delivery of official food control activities. The proposed changes include introducing a provision to enable the FSA to be more responsive in issuing instructions, whereby councils and district councils may legitimately depart from the Code, in limited circumstances and modernisation of the baseline knowledge, skills, and experience requirements to enable a wider cohort of environmental health and trading standards professionals to undertake official food controls and other official activities, which the current Code restricts. Maria Jennings, Director for Regulatory Compliance, People and Northern Ireland, said “The proposed amendments to the Codes, the Practice Guidance and the implementation of the Competency Framework will enable local authorities, port health authorities and district councils to urgently recruit additional officers to deal with the anticipated increase in food controls on imported and exported food, that will be required at the end of the EU transition period, and to redeploy staff during this unprecedented time.” The consultation is now open and will close on 10 December 2020.

For more information please click here.


Planning and housing

Councils invited to bid for £20,000 to tackle pandemic-related housing issues

Councils have been invited to bid for extra support to help them tackle the impact of COVID-19 on the housing crisis. The Local Government Association (LGA) is launching the fourth year of the Housing Advisers Programme, a scheme to help councils overcome housing challenges in their local areas, with a focus this year on projects tackling the impact of COVID-19. The programme, funds the provision of independent expertise for councils undertaking specific projects to tackle the effects of the housing crisis in local communities, including on housing delivery, planning for homes, and reducing homelessness. It is offering up to £20,000 for each project. Cllr David Renard, LGA housing spokesman,said “The programme aims to help councils deliver local priorities by tapping into the expert advice they need to innovate and improve in their efforts to build more homes, reduce homelessness, and address the impact of COVID-19 on their places and economies. It’s well worth councils who haven’t already done so looking at the programme and seeing how it can benefit them – a simple visit to the website is all that’s needed.”

For more information please click here.

Government announces launch of new Help to Buy scheme

The Government has announced that the existing Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme will be replaced with a new scheme that is restricted to first-time buyers only and introduces regional price limits. The new Help to Buy Equity Loan (2021-2023) scheme is due to replace the existing scheme on 1 April 2021, which means that existing homeowners wanting to use the existing Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme to help towards buying a new home have less than five months to apply for the scheme. The current scheme allows both first-time buyers and homeowners to use the Government-backed Help to Buy Equity Loan to buy a new-build home. The launch of the new scheme will result in just first-time buyers being able to apply for the loan, which must be used towards buying a new-build home. Under the new scheme, first-time buyers will still be able to borrow up to 20% (40% in London) of the cost of a newly built home. The buyer must pay a minimum of 5% deposit for the home and then use a help to buy mortgage to fund the remaining cost of the property. The loan is interest-free for the first five years and then interest fees start at 1.75% and rise each year in April by the Consumer Prices Index plus 2%. Borrowers are also charged a monthly management fee of £1 for the term of the loan.

For more information please click here.


Upcoming webinars

Building a resilient business

Ward Hadaway, Wellbeing Works and NPH Group invite you to join Dr Chris Barclay Evolve8 Coaching, Head of HR for CPI Dr Amy Smith and Investor Relationship Manager CPI Dr Ian Smith, for a webinar focussed on building business resilience through your workforce, helping to support high-performance teams and drive business benefits.

For more information please click here.

Brexit: End of the transition period – State aid and procurement

On 2nd December 2020 at 12pm, we will have the last in our series of Brexit webinars. What restriction will there be on State subsidy? What will happen to existing grants and other State measures? What aid will be permissible under any new system? Will the public sector still be bound by procurement rules? State aid and procurement specialists Dean Murray and Tim Care will discuss the implications of Brexit in these areas.

For more information please click here.

If you have any questions about the issues raised in this update, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.

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