Local Authority round-up 10/01/20

Brexit

Australia rules out visa-free travel deal post-Brexit

Australia’s trade minister, Simon Birmingham, has ruled out a post-Brexit trade deal involving visa-free travel and work arrangements with the UK. Currently Australians can visit the UK for less than six months without a visa but British tourists need one to enter Australia. UK international trade secretary, Liz Truss, suggested in September that there would be a deal to allow British citizens to live and work in the country visa-free however Mr Birmingham said he “can’t imagine full and unfettered free movement” would be on the table during negotiations however he said he expected possible tweaks to existing immigration rules to allow “more flexibility.”

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Trade deal by the end of 2020 “impossible” says von der Leyen

Once the UK leaves the EU on 31 January it will enter into an 11 month transition period in which time the UK and the EU will begin talks on their future economic relationship. European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has warned that it would be “impossible” to reach a comprehensive trade deal by the end of 2020 but if the deadline was not extended it was not a case of “all or nothing”. Adding that without an extension of the transition period beyond 2020 “you cannot expect to agree every single aspect of our new partnership”. Boris Johnson, on the other hand, has insisted a deal is possible by December 2020 and has said that the negotiation process would not be extended.

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MPs approve Withdrawal Agreement Bill

After the Withdrawal Agreement Bill passed its first stage in late December, it entered the second stage of the parliamentary process known as the committee stage this week whereby it was analysed in detail for 3 days by MPs.  MPs have now given their final backing to the bill voting 330 (all of which were Conservative) to 231 in favour and it will now pass to the House of Lords for further scrutiny next week.  If peers choose to amend it then it will come back before the MPs in the House of Commons.  The latest vote gives approval to the 11-month transition period after 31 January, in which the UK will cease to be an EU member but will continue to follow its rules and contribute to its budget.  Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said he is “confident” the UK will be able to negotiate a trade deal with the EU by the end of the year in line with the transition period, however the timescale is being criticised as being too tight.

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Commercial

£165 million funding announced for Troubled Families Programme

Communities Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP has announced £165m of new funding for 2020 and 2021 for the Troubled Families Programme which will provide intensive support for some of the most vulnerable families.  The fund aims to assist families with deep rooted problems by assigning a Troubled Families keyworker who engages with the whole family to coordinate support from a range of services to identify and address issues.  Since the current programme began in 2015 one or more adults in 26,848 of the families helped has moved off benefits and into work.  Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said “This is the right thing to do for families and for society as a whole, and these reforms will reduce the demand and dependency on costly, reactive key public services.”

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Scotland warns council budgets are at ‘breaking point’

Council leaders in Scotland have warned Holyrood that council budgets are at ‘breaking point’ following the cuts to essential services funding which has forced two-thirds of councils to use their reserves.  The figures come from a report from the Accounts Commission whose chair, Graham Sharp said change was required to ‘make services sustainable in future.’  Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) president Cllr Alison Evison agreed last November to review the funding formula for Scottish councils and has now urged the Scottish government to “provide Scotland’s councils with a fair settlement as part of this year’s budget.”

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LGA Behavioural Insights Programme provides council funding

Eight local councils are to receive £20,000 each from the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Behavioural Insights Programme.  The funding is being provided to councils to help them develop new ways to change the behaviour of residents as part of an effort to reduce demand on overstretched councils by changing the behaviour of citizens.  Last year Kent County Council was able to use the funding to increase the number of domestic abuse victims that seek and receive support by more than 2% and Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council increased the uptake of assistive technology by 27% through their interventions using targeted mail to those with blue badges and assisted bin collections.

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Regulatory

Proposals for UK’s first Zero Emission Zone

Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council have published their final draft proposals for the UK’s first city centre Zero Emission Zone which aims to reduce air pollution levels and tackle the climate emergency.  The proposals include a Red Zone in the city centre, which would come into force in December 2020, where zero emission vehicles will be able to drive free of charge but non-compliant vehicles would be charged £10 per day for entering the area.  Discounts would be offered to blue badge holders and businesses until December 2024 and residents would receive a 90% discount until December 2030 to give them time to comply with the new restrictions.  They also propose a Green Zone covering the rest of the city centre in 2021/22 which would be accessed for free by zero emission vehicles and with discounted charges for vehicles which comply with the London Ultra Low Emission Zone standards.

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Combustible cladding banned in Wales

Wales’ housing minister Julie James has announced that the use of combustible cladding on the external walls of high rise buildings in Wales will be banned from 13 January 2020, following Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, published in May 2018 which recommended significant changes.  The ban will apply to combustible cladding on all new residential buildings and hospitals over 18 metres in height and will also apply to existing buildings where relevant building work is being carried out which falls within the scope of the Building Regulations.

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Planning and housing

£4 million of funding for councils to tackle criminal landlords

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP has announced that more than 100 councils across England have been awarded a share over £4 million to crack down on criminal landlords and letting agents.  The funding will be used to take enforcement action against landlords who break the law and provide unsafe housing and also to advise tenants of their housing rights. Mr Jenrick said “Everyone deserves to live in a home that is safe and secure and the funding announced today will strengthen councils’ powers to crack down on poor landlords and drive up standards in the private rented sector for renters across the country.”

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Councils facing ‘significant constraints’ to build houses

A report by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), National Federation of Arms-Length Management Organisations and the Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH) has found that councils are being held back from providing new homes due to existing policies.  It found that The Right to Buy policy created issues as homes might have to be sold after 3 years at a significant discount, sometimes less than the cost of building them, and then there were restrictions on how the money could then be used.  Chief executive of the CIH, Gavin Smart, said “If the Government wants councils to play their full part it needs to give councils the flexibility they need to really get building the homes their communities need.”  A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said “we are committed to working with councils and exploring ways of unblocking their ability to build even further.”

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