Local Authority round-up 22/06/19

Brexit

Corbyn urged not to go “full Remain”

More than 25 Labour MPs have written to Jeremy Corbyn to urge him not to go “full Remain” as the party reviews its stance on another Brexit referendum. They warn another referendum would be “toxic” and empower the “populist right” in many Labour heartlands. Mr Corbyn told colleagues on Wednesday afternoon it was “right to demand any deal is put to a public vote.” Several MPs wrote a letter to Mr Corbyn which reflected the ongoing tensions within the party on the issue. The letter points to the “devastating” losses the party suffered in the North East and the Midlands in last month’s council elections and warns of serious electoral consequences for the party if the UK does not leave the EU “without further undue delay.”

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Tory rivals clash over Brexit deadline

During Tuesday’s hour-long debate, Boris Johnson described the Brexit deadline as “eminently feasible” whereas Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt both said extra time might be needed. Boris Johnson also said that the British people were “fed up” with the current deadlock over Brexit and the Tories would pay a “really serious price” if this continued. Mr Gove said an “arbitrary” deadline was counter-productive and if he was prime minister he would be prepared to delay Brexit by a matter of days to finalise a deal, and Mr Hunt said he would back a no-deal exit as a “last-resort” but if the UK was close to finalising a deal with the EU he would extend the talks to prevent the disruption a no-deal exit would cause to business.

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Businesses are not ready for no-deal Brexit

The Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said that around 150,000 businesses do not have the paperwork they need to keep exporting to the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit and that contingency stocks they have built up would only last weeks. He noted that in the event of a no-deal Brexit the return of trade tariffs on goods shipped to the UK would be automatic and said “we should be clear that not having an agreement with the European Union would mean that there are tariffs, automatically, because the Europeans have to apply the same rules to us as they apply to everyone else.”

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David Miliband: Labour must become unequivocal party of Remain

David Miliband has said that Labour’s current strategy on Brexit is failing badly – it achieved just 14% of the vote in the European Parliament last month. Miliband added that Theresa May’s Tory Government is “dysfunctional and useless” and so Labour’s failure was all the more stark. Miliband goes on to say that the “Brexit that people are now being offered is so different to the Brexit that was promised at the time of the referendum that it would be undemocratic not to have a confirmatory ballot.”

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Irish border: UK expert panel to advise on post-Brexit arrangements

The UK Government has appointed a panel of experts to advise on alternative arrangements for the Irish border after Brexit. Alternative arrangements refers to ways of maintaining a soft border without close regulatory alignment between the UK and the EU. The UK Government group will be chaired by Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay and Financial Secretary to the Treasury Jesse Norman. Mr Barclay said that “this work must be an absolute priority as we shape the future of the partnership.” The British Government and the EU have agreed there should be no hardening of the Irish border after Brexit.

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Commercial

Amazon awarded biggest contract in UK public sector

Research has revealed that Amazon has been awarded a total of 39 public sector contracts worth a total of £460 million since 2015. The biggest spender was Peterborough City Council who spent nearly £600,000 over 25 purchases last year. Contracts include those with Amazon Web Services through third-party suppliers to provide cloud computing. YPO signed a £400 million deal with Amazon last month to provide a digital marketplace for councils to buy goods and services.

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Council pension funds at risk

Shares in the Woodford Patient Capital Trust Fund are underperforming and have fallen 25% to 58p since 3 June. Council pension schemes have invested £10 million in the fund and at least three local authority pension funds, including Derbyshire, West Yorkshire and Dyfed in Wales are at risk as the stock price is continuing to fall. Kent County Council was blocked from pulling £263 million from Neil Woodford’s Equity Income Fund in May which is believed to have prompted Mr Woodford to suspend the fund and since then the shares have continued to fall.

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Regulatory

Ombudsman confirms ICO should deal with information requests

The Ombudsman has considered a complaint made against London Borough of Ealing council after they failed to provide information relating to a child services complaint which was requested from them. The Ombudsman decided that it would not investigate the complaint because the Information Commissioner’s Office was set up to deal with Data Protection Act (DPA) disputes and as failure to provide the information could be a DPA breach then the complainant should instead apply to the ICO who would be better placed to deal with the complaint.

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Prime Minister announces reform to Mental Health Act

As part of her announcement to reform the Mental Health Act, Theresa May has announced measures which will provide additional support to councils, school, social workers and healthcare services to make sure they know how to promote good mental health. This will include extra funding to support local authorities to strengthen and deliver local suicide prevention plans. She said “It’s time to rethink how we tackle this issue, which is why I believe the next great revolution in mental health should be in prevention. The measures we’ve launched today will make sure at every stage of life, for people of all backgrounds, preventing mental illness gets the urgent attention it deserves.” She confirmed that a White Paper will be published before the end of the year.

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Schools admission code to be changed to support disadvantaged children

Education Secretary Damian Hinds has announced plans to change the schools admission code so that the most vulnerable children do not miss out on school and to raise visibility of those who need a social worker.  Under the package of measures to support disadvantaged children there will be changes to the School Admissions Code so that; vulnerable children can access a school place quickly, new research will review how to tackle persistent absence from school, and there will be better sharing of information between councils and schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged children.

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Planning and housing

Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) will be transferable

Will Quince, the Minister for Family Support, Housing and Child Maintenance, had announced that anyone receiving SMI will now be able to transfer the support to a new property if they move home rather than having to repay the loan and then reapply. This change will ensure that those receiving the support due to a disability or health condition will continue to receive uninterrupted support when moving home. David Abbey, MySafeHome Limited Managing Director, said “Allowing vulnerable people with disabilities to port their SMI loan reaffirms the government’s full support for HOLD (Home Ownership for people with Long-term Disabilities) and we’re delighted that this change should give many more individuals the opportunity to choose where and how they live their lives.”

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Ombudsman finds council at fault for failing to prioritise housing application

The Ombudsman found that London Borough of Havering council failed to give a housing application the correct priority and if it had done then the complainant could have made a successful bid by the end of 2014. The Ombudsman therefore found that the council caused injustice as the complainant continued to live in a flat that was too small and since 2016 the complainant suffered anti-social behaviour from a neighbour with which the council did nothing to help her. The Ombudsman recommended and the council have agreed that it should apologise to the complainant, give her the correct housing priority backdated to July 2014 and make a payment of £4,000 to the complainant to reflect the injustice the council’s actions caused her.

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Manchester City Council consults on changes to housing allocation policy

Manchester City Council has launched a consultation on changes to its housing allocation policy in a bid to ensure priority is given to those in the greatest need and to those who would benefit the most. The council currently allows anyone to put their name on the housing register, regardless of their need however the review proposes changes as to who qualifies to join the social housing register and the priority level of those on the register. The consultation will run until 30 August 2019.

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New housing statistics show increase in affordable homes

Homes England has published its latest annual housing statistics which show a significant increase in the number of affordable homes being built in England and the highest number of starts for nine years and the highest levels of completions for four years. Between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019 there were 45,692 new houses started on site under programmes managed by Homes England, 67% of which were for affordable homes, and 40,289 houses were completed. Nick Walkley, Chief Executive of Homes England, said “At a time where the average house costs around eight times the average income, these are positive signs that the delivery of homes, and particularly affordable homes, is on the up.”

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