Local Authority round-up 22/09/23

Regulatory

Home Office issues updated statutory guidance on the Prevent duty for specified authorities

The Home Office has issued Prevent duty guidance: Guidance for specified authorities in England and Wales (2023 guidance). The 2023 guidance, which is issued under section 29 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (CTSA 2015), will come into force on 31 December 2023. The Prevent duty in section 26 of the CTSA 2015 places a duty on specified authorities (listed in Schedule 6 to the CTSA 2015) to have regard to the need to prevent people from being radicalised and drawn into terrorist activities. Authorities covered by the CTSA 2015 include local authorities, education providers and NHS Trusts. Under section 29, specified authorities must have regard to government guidance in carrying out the section 26 duty and will be “well placed” to comply with it if they do so. The 2023 guidance contains a chapter for each of local authorities, the education sector, the healthcare sector, the police and criminal justice agencies, and has particular information for each concerning leadership, capabilities, reducing permissive environments, and monitoring and assurance. Until the 2023 guidance comes into force, specified authorities must continue to have regard to these documents.

For more information please click here.

Regulations made banning supply of single-use plastic items in England

The Environmental Protection (Plastic Plates etc and Polystyrene Containers etc) (England) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/982) were made on 7 September 2023 and come into force on 1 October 2023. The Regulations ban the supply of some commonly littered single-use plastic items in England from 1 October 2023 to prevent environmental pollution and encourage use of more environmentally friendly materials. They ban the supply of single-use plastic including cutlery, balloon sticks, and expanded and foamed extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers (including cups), plates, trays and bowls to the end user. The ban will be enforced principally through the civil sanction of a fixed monetary penalty.

For more information please click here.

Planning and housing

House of Lords rejects government amendment to cut nutrient neutrality requirements

The House of Lords has rejected the recent government amendments to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill 2022-23 that sought to reduce nutrient neutrality requirements for new housing developments. The House of Lords rejected amendments that would have:

• Required planning authorities to assume that nutrients in urban wastewater from potential developments would not adversely affect a habitats site connected to a nutrient affected catchment area.
• Allowed the Secretary of State to make regulations to revoke or amend any Act of Parliament or retained direct EU law that relates to the environment, planning or development in England, in relation to the effect of nutrients in water that could affect a habitats site connected to a nutrient affected catchment area.

The timing of the rejection of the controversial amendments means that the government cannot re-introduce them in this Bill. However, the House of Lords agreed other government amendments that will amend clause 158 of the Bill (relating to nutrient pollution standards). The Bill is currently at the report stage in the House of Lords. An eighth day of report stage is scheduled for 18 September 2023.

For more information please click here.

Government launches £1 billion Great British Insulation Scheme

The government has announced that £1 billion of funding will be made available through the Great British Insulation Scheme which will aim to save families money on their energy bills. Under the scheme, families in lower council tax bands with less energy-efficient homes will be offered vital upgrades such as roof, loft or cavity wall insulation which could cut their annual energy bill by an average of between £300 to £400. People are able to check whether they are eligible for funding through an online checker tool. Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said “Boosting the energy efficiency of homes creates the best long-term protection against fuel poverty for the most vulnerable. That’s why we are helping families with extra support to make their homes warmer, while saving hundreds on energy costs.”

For more information please click here.

Upcoming webinars

Webinar series: Data Protection

Register your interest for our on-going webinar series on ‘Data Protection’ for in-house lawyers, DPOs and senior management in private and public sector organisations. The series will run throughout 2023 providing attendees with up to date information on key Data Protection topics. The short one hour sessions will be delivered by our experts with allocated time for you to ask any questions you may have. The next in our series ‘Data transfers – crossing borders’ will take place on 14 November 2023.

For more information or to book your place, please click here.

Housing Management Law School Autumn Term

Please join us for our Housing Management Law School, held via Zoom on Thursday 19th October at 9:30am. The Law School is free to attend and exists to deliver training to Registered Providers of Social Housing across the country, educating and updating their housing management staff with the essential legal knowledge that they need.

For more information or to book your place, please click here.

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