Local Authority round-up 17/01/20

Brexit

Government rejects second independence referendum for Scotland

Following a formal request from Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon last month for the UK Government to transfer powers, known as a Section 30 order, to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh so they could ensure any referendum was legal, Boris Johnson has formally rejected the request for a second independence referendum noting that it had previously pledged that the 2014 referendum would be a “once in a generation” vote.  In the 2014 referendum Scottish voters voted to remain in the UK by 55%. Ms Sturgeon has now said that the Scottish Government would set out its response and “next steps” before the end of the month and that Scottish Parliament would again be asked to “back Scotland’s right to choose our own future.”  Ms Sturgeon said the decision “shows utter contempt for the votes, views and interests of the people of Scotland and it is a strategy that is doomed to failure.”

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Leo Varadkar calls for common minimum standard in Brexit negotiations

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has met with the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on her visit to Ireland this week and has called for “a level playing field” in the Brexit negotiations and said the next step is to negotiate a free trade agreement between the UK and EU.  Ms von der Leyden said there’s “almost no other country in the European Union” more affected by Brexit than Ireland and that the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were “one of our top priorities” during the withdrawal negotiations.

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Angela Merkel says Europe needs to up its game

Angela Merkel has said in an interview that Brexit is “wake-up call” for the EU and that they needed to become more “attractive, innovative, creative, a good place for research and education” as the UK will emerge as an economic competitor after it leaves the EU.  She has called on the remaining EU leaders to make Europe more competitive to meet the challenge of Brexit, as well as economic heavyweights such as the US and China saying “with the departure of Great Britain, a potential competitor will of course emerge for us. That is to say, in addition to China and the United States of America, there will be Great Britain as well.”

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Commercial

Housing Minister announces £8 million case boost

Housing Minister Rt Hon Esther McVey MP has announced an £8 million cash boost to deliver up to 200,000 new homes in garden towns and villages and for councils to support new neighbourhood plans.  £6 million will be allocated to help new locally-led garden towns and villages progress plans to deliver up to 200,000 new homes with 21 garden towns and villages already in the pipeline to receive a share of the funding.  An additional £1.9 million will be given to councils in England to support new neighbourhood plans which will include providing advice and expertise to communities that want a neighbourhood plan, organising an independent examination of draft plans, hosting local referendums that give communities a final say on these plans and supporting communities who want to deliver new neighbourhood plans but have not been able to.

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Councils will receive “additional resources” to meet waste strategy

Recycling Minister Rebecca Pow has said that councils will receive additional funding to meet the increasing costs which will occur as a result of the Resources and Waste Strategy which will be implemented under the Environmental Bill which is due to be reintroduced later this month after falling at the dissolution of parliament for the 2019 General Election.  She said the “Government recognises the financial pressures on local authorities. They will therefore receive additional resource to meet new net costs arising from the policies set out in this Strategy once implemented.”

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Regulatory

Councils to receive new powers on short-term lets in Scotland

Housing minister Kevin Stewart has announced measures in the Scottish Parliament to provide councils with the ability to implement a licensing scheme for short-term lets from spring 2021 to enable councils to understand what is happening in their area, improve safety and assist with the effective handling of complaints.  He said “By giving councils the power to set conditions around short-term lets licences and put in place planning control areas to tackle hot spots, communities across Scotland will be able to decide what is best for them and their local economy.”  Councils will have discretion to apply further conditions and will be able to designate control areas to ensure planning permission is in place for a change of use of whole properties for short-term lets.

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Planning and housing

Government ends freeze on local housing allowance

Following a cap on local housing allowance (LHA) payments in 2016, the Government has now announced that it will put an end to the freeze which is estimated to provide an average of around £10 extra a month to affected households.  Homeless charity Homeless Link have argued that the freeze contributed to the number of homeless people and whilst they welcomed the announcement Rick Henderson, chief executive of Homeless Link, said “to ensure that everyone has a home that they can afford, the Government must do more to bring the LHA rate back in line with local rents.”  The minister for welfare delivery, Will Quince, said “We are committed to tackling all forms of homelessness – ending the freeze on housing benefits is just one part of achieving this.”

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13,500 affordable homes lost due to permitted development rules

New analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) has revealed that around 13,500 affordable homes have been lost due to permitted development rules and the LGA is now calling for permitted development rules to be scrapped and local communities to be allowed to have a vital say on new developments in their area.  The rules allow offices to be converted into housing without planning permission and figures show that since 2015 there were 54,162 new homes converted from offices under permitted development in England which has potentially led to the loss of 13,540 affordable homes.  Cllr David Renard, the LGA’s housing spokesman, said “By scrapping permitted development rules, the Government can give councils and local communities the ability to shape the area they live in and ensure homes are built to high standards with the necessary infrastructure in place.”

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