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Local Authority round-up 22/05/20

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

Government statement following third negotiating round

The Government has issued a statement following third round of negotiations with the EU which expresses regret that very little progress was made towards agreement on the most significant outstanding issues. In the Government’s view a standard comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA), alongside other agreements on issues such as law enforcement, civil nuclear and aviation, could be agreed without major difficulties in the time available. The statement says that the major obstacle is the EU’s insistence on including level playing field proposals in a way that is unprecedented in FTAs and not envisaged in the political declaration. The Government also disagrees with the EU’s position on fisheries. The Government says that a change in EU approach is required for the fourth round of negotiations, which is scheduled to start on 1 June 2020.

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EU issues statement following third negotiating round

The European Commission has also issued a statement following the third round of negotiations which notes that the third round was underpinned by new text proposals sent by the UK, which now cover nearly all of the topics included in the European Commission’s draft text. The EU’s statement says that the discussions provided useful clarifications on matters such as trade in goods, transport, and UK participation in EU programmes, however no progress was made on the other more difficult subjects, apart from some modest overtures. The EU states that the UK did not engage in a real discussion on level playing field issues. No progress was made on the single governance framework, which would enable the UK and the EU to jointly implement the full range of their commitments. It says that the UK and the EU started to discuss fisheries, but the UK and EU positions remain far apart. It notes that there is general agreement on the objectives for police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters, but obstacles include the Government’s approach to data protection. Following the third round the EU concludes that the UK government says it would be content with a Canada-style deal, but is asking a lot more than Canada, and is looking to maintain the benefits of being an EU member state without the obligations and therefore in order to make progress in the negotiations, the UK Government must be more realistic about the consequences of the decision to leave the single market and customs union.

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EU needs to show flexibility, says Gove

Following the third round of negotiations between the UK and the EU, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said that talks were going “well” and that he was “confident a deal could be done” but he said that in order to progress the EU needed to show “a little bit of their fabled flexibility.” One of the main issues in negotiations is on fishing and access to waters and Mr Gove said “they [the EU] want to have the same access to our fish as they had when we were in the EU.”  The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said that the EU would not accept a deal “at any price” and was stepping up preparations for a no-deal outcome, in which the two sides would trade with each other under World Trade Organization rules.

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Government publishes legal texts for negotiations

Following the end of the third round of negotiations, the Government has published 13 documents which sets out the UK’s approach to a future with the EU and which have formed the basis of discussions with the EU. The documents outline the UK’s position of securing a free trade agreement with the EU, drawing on previous EU agreements with the likes of Canada, Japan and South Korea. It has also proposed a separate agreement on fisheries, on law enforcement, and in technical areas covering aviation, energy and civil nuclear cooperation. It said its approach was based on “friendly cooperation between sovereign equals” and “represents our clear and unwavering view that the UK will always have control of its own laws, political life and rules.” The Government states that it believes the “approach and proposals are fair and reasonable. This Government is committed to establishing the future relationship in ways that benefit the whole of the UK and strengthen the Union.”

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Post-Brexit immigration bill approved by MPs

The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill was given initial approval in the House of Commons on Monday by 351 votes to 252 in relation to its general principles. The bill sets out the UK’s post-Brexit immigration policy which will repeal freedom of movement and introduces a new framework for who can come and live in the UK which will be based on a points system. Points will be awarded for certain things such as being able to speak English, having a job offer, meeting a salary threshold and for certain qualifications. Home Secretary Priti Patel said “It will end free movement and pave the way for a firmer, fairer and simpler system and will attract people we need to drive our country through the recovery stage of coronavirus, laying the foundation of a high wage, high skill productive economy.”

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Commercial

Infection Control Fund for care homes announced

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has announced £600 million in funding under the Infection Control Fund to reduce transmission of coronavirus in care homes. The funding will be provided to councils to ensure care homes can continue to halt the spread of coronavirus by helping them cover the costs of implementing measures to reduce transmission. Under new measures which were also announced councils will need to conduct a daily review of care homes to ensure they have the support they need. Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said “This new funding will be distributed to councils based on the number of care home beds in their area and will be passed on quickly to care providers. It will fund new measures to reduce the transmission of coronavirus in care homes, minimise infection, keep staff and residents safe and, ultimately, save lives.”

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Councils need income guarantee

The County Councils Network (CCN) is warning that some councils may be forced to issue section 114 notices due to lost income and growing costs pressures caused by coronavirus and they are therefore calling on the Government to provide a £5 billion income guarantee for councils. The income guarantee would compensate councils for their lost income in addition to providing emergency funding for additional costs. Cllr David Williams, chairman of the CCN, said “By setting out an initial guarantee of £5bn, this will provide councils with the confidence and means that they need to spend what is required to defeat the spread of the virus, save lives and support private enterprise to drive the economic recovery.”

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Council forced to make £22 million cuts

Luton Borough Council has announced that even with the support provided by the Government during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it is facing a £49 million shortfall in its finances and it is therefore planning to make £22 million cuts in an emergency budget in July. The council said that it has had additional costs of £10 million to deal with coronavirus and it has lost money from shortfalls in tax, rents, fees and charges as well as losing £37 million in revenue from council owned airport Luton Airport. Finance portfolio holder Andy Malcolm called the position “stark” and said the cuts were “not going to be pleasant.”

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Regulatory

Councils warn against reopening schools

Following the Government’s announcement that it intends to open schools from 1 June, 153 English councils have acknowledged safety concerns. However, they have not urged all their schools to reject the proposed timeframe. The Government’s proposals is that children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 will return to school on 1 June if infection rates state low. Some councils have warned that their schools will not be ready to open by 1 June whilst some have expressed concerns over opening at all due to safety concerns. Teaching union NASUWT said it remained “unconvinced” reopening schools was “appropriate or practicable.” Emma Knights, the chief executive of the National Governance Association, which advises school governors, said it would be hard for governors to ignore the position of their councils.

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Planning and housing

Government needs to increase building safety fund

Following the Government’s announcement that it was providing £1 billion in funding under the Building Safety Fund, to replace dangerous cladding on buildings, the Greater Manchester High Rise Task Force has warned that the funding will not be enough. It said that the funding would not be sufficient to address fire safety deficiencies in high rise buildings, let alone all other high risk premises. It also said that the fund should not be restricted only to buildings over 18 metres and should be available to replace dangerous cladding on all buildings to make all high rise and high risk buildings safe from fire. It said that to make all high rise and high risk buildings safe from fire just in Greater Manchester alone would require half of the funding the Government is providing.

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Supreme Court hands down key ruling on listed buildings

The Supreme Court has ruled that planning inspectors should reconsider whether two lead urns that were placed on top of limestone piers at a historic house were ‘buildings’ or not. The decision comes after a pair of early 18th century lead urns were moved in 1973 to the garden of Idlicote House and in June 1986 were added to the list of listed buildings, though no record exists of notice of the listing having been served. The urns were then sold at auction in 2009 by Mr Dill who was unaware of their listed status. Stratford-on-Avon discovered this in 2015 and told him that listed building consent had been required for their removal but it refused his retrospective application for consent in February 2016, and issued a listed building enforcement notice requiring the urns’ reinstatement. Mr Dill appealed to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the ground that the urns were not buildings for the purposes of the Listed Buildings Act and a planning inspector dismissed this and Mr Dill’s two unsuccessful court actions followed. On appeal to the Supreme Court Lord Carnwath said “This case has revealed a disturbing lack of clarity about the criteria which have been adopted by the relevant authorities, not only in this instance but more generally, in determining whether free-standing items such as these are regarded as qualifying for listing protection, whether as ‘curtilage structures’, or as separate ‘buildings’ as in this case.”

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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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