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Local Authority round-up 19/07/19

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

MPs pass amendment in an attempt to block prorogue of Parliament

MPs have backed a bid to stop a new prime minister suspending Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit.  A majority of 41 votes (315 MPs backed it and 274 opposed) approved an amendment that blocks suspension between 9 October and 18 December unless a Northern Ireland executive is formed.  Four cabinet ministers abstained, including Philip Hammond, and 17 Conservative MPs rebelled against the whip, including minister Margot James, who resigned from her post to do so.

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Corbyn sacks shadow Brexit minister

Dianne Hayter has been sacked as Labour’s shadow Brexit minister after she likened the “bunker mentality” around Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership to the “last days of Hitler.” She remains Labour’s deputy leader in the House of Lords as this is an elected position. A Labour Party spokesman said “Dianne Hayter has been sacked from her frontbench position with immediate effect for her deeply offensive remarks about Jeremy Corbyn and his office. To compare the Labour leader and Labour Party staff working to elect a Labour Government to the Nazi regime is truly contemptible, and grossly insensitive to Jewish staff in particular.”

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Brexit secretary claims EU trade talks will start “very quickly” in event of no-deal

Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay has claimed that in the event of a no- deal Brexit the EU will start trade deals “very quickly” due to the UK’s “size and importance of the UK on the border of the EU.” Whilst the EU has repeatedly insisted it will not renegotiate terms and the Withdrawal Agreement, Barclay claims that once they feel the impact of a no-deal Brexit they will have to shift their stance especially if they are under pressure from its voters and businesses once they feel the “impact of no-deal.”

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Labour’s Sarah Champion says she would “take no deal” over remaining in the EU

The former shadow minister has said she would “take no deal” over remaining in the EU, arguing that Labour had to deliver the result of the referendum. She has said that she could not support Labour transforming into a remain party, arguing that it “goes against democracy” and “for our democracy, we have to leave.”

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Letwin: No-deal battle could be decided by Supreme Court

Sir Oliver Letwin has said that any attempt by the next Prime Minister to suspend Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit is likely to end up in Supreme Court. Campaigners have already warned that they will challenge any prorogation of Parliament to allow Brexit on 31 October without a deal, and in particular, anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller has said she would seek a judicial review of any attempt to force through a no-deal. Sir Oliver has commented “can we actually get a parliamentary majority for some action in the autumn if needed to prevent no deal? The answer is we don’t know yet.”

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UK will lose control in no-deal scenario warns Hammond

The Chancellor has warned that if the UK leaves the EU without a deal it will not be able to control Brexit because many of the levers are held by others (such as the EU 27 and private business). He added, “we can make sure that goods flow inwards through the port of Dover without any friction, but we can’t control the outward flow into the port of Calais.” Mr Hammond has previously told MPs that a no-deal Brexit could cost the Treasury £90bn and said it would be up to them to ensure that “doesn’t happen.”

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Tory leadership race: clash over Brexit

In a recent interview, Jeremy Hunt has said that he “expects” the UK to leave the EU before Christmas, but has refused to make any guarantees whereas rival Boris Johnson said the UK would leave the EU by 31 October “come what may” if he became PM. Mr Hunt said the “quickest way” to leave the EU is “to send to Brussels a Prime Minister who can negotiate a deal that will get through Parliament – and I’m that person.” Mr Johnson has however commented that he would not rule out proroguing Parliament to leave the EU on 31 October saying that “it’s very, very important that we get ready to leave on 31 October, come what may, we will.”

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Commercial

£100 million migration fund to ease council pressures

Councils across England are set to receive a further £28 million to help ease pressures on local services resulting from recent migration, bringing the total funding from the Government’s Controlling Migration Fund to over £100 million. So far, the fund has helped deliver rapid results for communities, from tackling rogue landlords, to helping alleviate rough sleeping and boosting community integration through English language lessons. Communities Minister Lord Bourne has said about the fund, “[it] is delivering results across the country and providing services for the benefit of all.”

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Multi-million pound boost for Grimsby Town Deal

Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry has announced £3.75 million of new investment into Grimsby as part of its next phase of the Grimsby Town Deal which aims to regenerate the town centre. The total investment through the Deal is now around £88 million since it was launched in July 2018. The next stage of the Deal will include looking at a programme to drive up educational attainment and enhance adult skills as well as plans for a new Youth Zone in the town centres which North East Lincolnshire Council will work with national charity OnSide to develop.

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Moray Council welcomes £65m Growth Deal

UK and Scottish Governments have announced a £65 million Growth Deal for Moray following the launch of Moray’s Growth Deal bid launched in 2017. Both Governments will provide £32.5 million of funding each for the first round of funding which will contribute to the economy, promote skills development, energy, culture and tourism, as well as improving connectivity and productivity across the region. In his announcement of the fund, The Minister for the Cabinet Office, David Lidington said “As we work alongside the Scottish Government and local partners, this deal will help unlock the region’s economic potential for inclusive growth including supporting local services and attracting businesses.”

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Regulatory

The Local Government Association’s response to new legal duty

The Local Government Association (LGA) has responded to a new legal duty to tackle serious violent crime. Councillor Simon Blackburn, Chair of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said “we support a public health approach to tackling serious violent crime, which has become an increasing priority for councils.” He added, “we are concerned amending the Crime and Disorder Act will not create the required step-change to tackle serious violent crime, particularly if this is not supported with extra funding.” The Councillor commented that the Government needs to reverse funding cuts to local youth services, youth offending teams and councils’ public health budgets (…) otherwise we will not be able to tackle serious violence in our communities.”

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Oxford City Council backs campaign for procurement reform

The council has called for changes to procurement laws, enabling the public sector to factor firms’ record on paying tax into contract awarding decisions. Research published by the Fair Tax Mark campaign found that 17.5% of contracts, valued at worth £37.5bn, commissioned by local and national government between 2014 and 2019 were won by businesses with connections to a tax haven. The Fair Tax Declaration commits Oxford to ensuring contractors abide by anti-tax avoidance laws, not using offshore vehicles, undertaking due diligence of not-for-profit structures and supporting reform of procurement laws.

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Council obtains temporary injunction for illegal encampments

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council has secured a temporary High Court injunction to prevent illegal encampments on 158 sites. The council applied for the injunction following a surge in encampments and fly-tipping. The temporary injunction will remain in force for three months in advance of a full hearing for a permanent injunction in November 2019. The order covers a range of sites in the borough including parks, playgrounds, open spaces, agricultural land and car parks. The injunction forbids caravans, mobile homes, vans and lorries from coming onto the land and setting up camps or dumping waste on it. Cllr Natalie Bramhall, Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services, said “This injunction will protect our parks and open spaces and enable our residents to enjoy their greenspaces and local facilities.”

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Planning and housing

Funding for new technology to monitor house building

Local authorities in the UK are looking at ways to use new technologies to help their urban planners make better informed decisions. Up to £1.25 million is available through a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition to investigate how technology could be used to monitor development in the Waltham Forest Council area of East London. The competition aims to investigate how technology could be used to monitor developments of all types, from permission to completion and occupation. The competition has 2 phases. In phase 1, applicants will carry out feasibility studies on their proposed solution. Contracts worth up to £500,000 each could be awarded to the two most promising projects to develop and test a prototype in phase 2.

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Oxford council to remove ‘dangerous’ cladding from tower block

Oxford City Council has announced that it will remove cladding from a residential tower block after it emerged that a cladding system with a high-pressure laminate rain screen and combustible insulation had failed a fire safety test carried out by a private company. It will cost £1 million to replace the high-pressure laminate rain screen which covers nearly half of Hockmore Tower. Councillor Mike Rowley said Oxford council was going “above and beyond legal requirements” and that it was “acting quickly to remove and replace the cladding on Hockmore Tower.”

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Council chiefs welcome proposals to review system for inspecting private sector housing

A proposal to overhaul the housing, health and safety rating code (HHSRS) has been welcomed by local government leaders who say the proposed overhaul will help improve councils’ ability to uphold standards in the private rented sector. The HHSRS had not been updated in several years and tenants, landlords and local authorities said it was complicated and inefficient, but now the Government has announced it will “improve, clarify and modernise” the system. A spokesman for the Local Government Agency said he was “pleased the Government had listened to the concerns of council and the review would help them uphold standards in the sector.”

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Upcoming seminars

As you may well know we run a programme of seminars on a wide range of topics. Listed below are those seminars coming up which we feel may be of interest to you. Please click on the links for further information and to book your place. You can see our full programme of upcoming events by clicking here.

Housing Management Law School – Autumn Term 2019

Join us at the next Ward Hadaway Housing Management Law School taking place this Autumn. Autumn term will bring with it a brand new programme where our social housing experts will update you on the most recent news and topics that you need to know about from both a legal and practical perspective.

Wednesday 9th October (Newcastle)

Thursday 10th October (Leeds)

Thursday 17th October (Manchester)

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.

This page may contain links that direct you to third party websites. We have no control over and are not responsible for the content, use by you or availability of those third party websites, for any products or services you buy through those sites or for the treatment of any personal information you provide to the third party.

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