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Local Authority round-up 26/02/21

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

SME Brexit Support Fund announced

Michael Gove has announced a £20 million SME Brexit Support Fund to support small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) adjust to new customs, rules of origin and VAT rules when trading with the EU following the UK’s departure from the EU. SMEs will be able to apply for grants of up to £2,000 to enable them to continuing trading with the EU post Brexit and can be used to provide training and professional advice to allow them to understand and comply with the new import controls which will come into force in April and July.  Mr Gove said “This new targeted funding will see small businesses get more of the practical support they need to adjust to the new processes and prepare for further changes as we implement our own import controls in April and July. Together we will seize new opportunities available to a fully independent global trading United Kingdom.”

For more information please click here.

Meeting over Irish Sea border “hugely disappointing”

A meeting of the EU-UK body which is overseeing the Northern Ireland Brexit deal, chaired by Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic, has been held in order to resolve issues with the Irish Sea Border following the UK’s departure from the EU. Following Brexit, Northern Ireland remains part of the EU’s single market for good and will continue to enforce EU customs rules at its ports but now that the UK has left the EU there are ongoing problems with exports at the border. First Minister Arlene Foster said that the meeting was “hugely disappointing” and that no breakthrough was reached on the UK’s request to extend the grace period, the first of which is due to end in April. The UK has requested an extension until 2023. In contrast, Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said the meeting had been “constructive and pragmatic” and said that another meeting of the committee would take place before the end of March.

For more information please click here.

Government plans to scrap EU’s Vnuk motor insurance law

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced that the UK government is planning to remove EU Vnuk motor insurance law from British law following the UK’s departure from the EU. The EU’s Vnuk motor insurance law requires insurance for a wider range of vehicles, even on private land, including ride-on lawnmowers, mobility scooters, quad bikes and golf buggies. If this is removed from UK law then it could save British drivers an estimated cost of up to £50 per year on their insurance premiums. Mr Shapps said “We have always disagreed with this over-the-top law that would only do one thing – hit the pockets of hard-working people up and down the country with an unnecessary hike in their car insurance. I am delighted to announce that we no longer need to implement it. Scrapping this rule would save the country billions of pounds and is part of a new and prosperous future for the UK outside the EU – a future in which we set our own rules and regulations.”

For more information please click here.

Webinar: Crossing Brexit borders – the impact on importers and exporters

There have been conflicting stories in the press about the volume of freight exports from the UK in the first months of 2021. The impact of Brexit on importers and exporters will be discussed at our free Zoom Brexit webinar at 12pm on Thursday 4th March. We have brought together a panel of experts to talk about the impact on cross border trade for businesses, what the threats are, and what potential opportunities might exist.

Click here to register.


Commercial

£700 million education recovery package announced

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a £700 million education recovery funding package in order to help students catch up on missed learning as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The package includes a new one-off £302 million Recovery Premium for state primary and secondary schools to support the most disadvantaged students. The rest of the funding will be used to expand tutoring programmes, including one-to-one and small group tutoring programmes, and will be used to enable secondary schools to deliver face-to-face summer schools for those who need it most. Mr Johnson said “When schools re-open and face to face education resumes on 8 March, our next priority will be ensuring no child is left behind as a result of the learning they have lost over the past year. This extensive programme of catch-up funding will equip teachers with the tools and resources they need to support their pupils, and give children the opportunities they deserve to learn and fulfil their potential.”

For more information please click here.

Multibillion Levelling Up Fund extended

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Barclay has announced that the Levelling Up Fund will be extended to the whole of the UK to help boost growth in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who will now all benefit from at least £800 million of investment by the UK Government for town centre and high street regeneration, local transport, cultural and heritage projects. The funding has been extended across the UK to ensure that all areas receive the support and funding they need in order to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Barclay, said “We are committed to levelling-up opportunities right across the United Kingdom so that all communities can benefit from our future prosperity. Our levelling-up fund will back local projects to improve everyday life for millions of people and we look forward to working with all areas to boost local economies. By extending the levelling-up fund to be UK-wide, we are ensuring that no community in the United Kingdom is left behind.”

For more information please click here.


Regulatory

Government publishes roadmap out of lockdown for England

On 22 February 2021, the UK government published its COVID-19 roadmap which sets out the plan for easing lockdown restrictions in England, in four steps. Earliest opening dates of relevance to businesses include the following:

  • 29 March 2021. Outdoor sports facilities such as tennis and basketball courts, and open-air swimming pools.
  • 12 April 2021. Non-essential retail businesses; personal care premises such as hairdressers and nail salons; public buildings, including libraries and community centres; indoor leisure facilities such as gyms (but only for use by people on their own or in household groups); most outdoor sites and outdoor hospitality venues (including restaurants and pubs, table service only, but no need for a substantial meal, and no curfew); zoos, theme parks, and drive-in cinemas; and self-contained accommodation such as campsites and holiday lets, where indoor facilities are not shared with other households.
  • 17 May 2021. Most businesses in all but the highest risk sectors; indoor hospitality venues (including restaurants and pubs, table service only, but no need for a substantial meal, and no curfew); indoor entertainment venues such as cinemas and children’s play areas; the rest of the accommodation sector, including hotels, hostels and B&Bs; and some larger performances and sporting events in indoor and outdoor venues, with the limits in each case varying according to the size of the venue.
  • 21 June 2021. The government hopes to remove all legal limits on social contact, and in particular to reopen remaining premises, including nightclubs, and ease restrictions on large events and performances.

Before taking each step, the government will review the latest data on the impact of the previous step against four tests. The tests are that the vaccine deployment programme continues successfully; vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated; infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS; and the government’s assessment of the risks is not fundamentally changed by new variants of concern. Progress will also be subject to positive results from four reviews: into the time that will be needed to maintain social distancing and face masks; the resumption of international travel; the potential role of COVID-status certification in helping venues to open safely; and the safe return of major events. The Chancellor of the Exchequer will set out details of continuing business support measures in the Budget on Wednesday 3 March 2021.

For more information please click here.

Reforms announced for housing vulnerable children

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced that as part of a series of reforms in respect of children’s social care, the government will be implementing a ban on placing vulnerable children under the age of 16 in unregulated independent or semi-independent placements accommodation with effect from September. He also announced that plans will be developed in order to support councils to create more places in children’s homes, which will be backed by additional investment. He also confirmed that the government are planning to legislate to give Ofsted new powers to take enforcement action against illegal unregistered providers and will also introduce national standards for unregulated settings that accommodate 16 and 17-year-old children in care. Mr Williamson said “The action taken today – supported by the sector and in response to their views – is an important step in making sure children in care are placed in settings that give them the highest chances of success.”

For more information please click here.


Planning and housing

800 new homes planned for Harrogate

Government housing agency Homes England has acquired two development sites in Harrogate which will unlock land for over 800 new family homes to be built. The sites have provision for 40% affordable homes to be built in order to meet demand in the area. The first site in Ripon, known as West Lane, has outline planning consent for 390 new homes which will include 156 affordable homes and the second site in Bluecoat Park has an outline planning permission for 450 new homes however the planning permission for that site is due to expire this month but Homes England intends to submit a new planning application later this year. Trevor Watson, director of economy and culture, Harrogate Borough Council, said “We welcome Homes England’s involvement in seeking to bring forward and unlock these stalled sites. They are important in helping to deliver our strategic objective to provide new homes that meet the needs of the district.”

For more information please click here.

Guidance published for letting accommodation funded through Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published guidance for councils and private registered providers (PRPs) on letting accommodation funded through the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP), which forms part of the government’s “Everyone In” initiative to house rough sleepers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance covers the grant of flexible and non-secure tenancies. The guidance notes that offers of non-secure tenancies are not allocations under Part VI of the Housing Act 1996 and as such there would be no requirement for councils to amend their allocation schemes in order to grant them. It also notes that under the “relief duty”, councils are able to secure accommodation for those who are not owed the main housing duty and to extend their duty beyond 56 days, and that such accommodation would deliver a form of high-quality temporary housing with appropriate support for rough sleepers working towards independence. The guidance also deals with lettings by PRPs and confirms that they are able to grant assured short hold tenancies that meet the RSAP requirements without the tenancies defaulting to lifetime status after the initial letting period has expired. The guidance states that the nature of the units funded through RSAP will mean that offering licence agreements, rather than tenancies, will generally not be appropriate. The guidance also notes that in some cases, councils and PRPs may wish to go on and offer lifetime tenancies at the end of fixed-term tenancies to former rough sleepers. The MHCLG states that in such cases it will sympathetically consider any such requests, which would involve the removal of a property from the RSAP but would require an alternative and equivalent unit to be provided in its place.

For more information please click here.

Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill passed

The Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill was passed by the Welsh Government on 23 February 2021, although it has not yet received Royal Assent. The Bill, which was introduced in February 2020, will amend the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 to give private residential tenants in Wales greater security. Rental contracts in Wales will change to give tenants greater protection including that tenants will have the security and stability of a minimum 12-month contract and minimum notice periods will be extended from two to six months in the case of “no fault evictions,” however they will still be able to seek repossession if a tenant is in breach of contract. Landlords will also only be able to serve notice six months after tenants have moved in and rental contracts will be simplified and standardised with model contracts available. The changes are expected to take effect from spring 2022.

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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