Local Authority round-up 28/02/20
28th February, 2020
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
UK publishes Brexit trade mandate
On Thursday, the UK published its mandate, entitled “The Future Relationship with the EU,” setting out the negotiating strategy to agree a trade deal with the EU. The document lays out negotiating aims on things including fishing and financial services and the controversial “level playing field” rules, which would set out the extent to which the UK must align to EU regulations in exchange for market access. It states “Whatever happens, the Government will not negotiate any arrangement in which the U.K. does not have control over its own laws and political life. That means that we will not agree to any obligations for our laws to be aligned with the EU’s or for the EU’s institutions, including the Court of Justice, to have any jurisdiction in the U.K.” The document states that the UK “will not negotiate any arrangements in which the UK does not have control of its own laws and political life,” that the UK’s aim is for a trading relationship with the EU similar to the ones the 27-nation bloc has with Canada, Japan and South Korea, that there will be no jurisdiction for EU law or the European Court of Justice in the UK, that the UK will rely on World Trade Organization rules under an arrangement with the EU similar to Australia’s if progress on a comprehensive deal cannot be made and that a separate agreement on fisheries is needed, to reflect the fact that “the UK will be an independent coastal state at the end of 2020.” The Government wants to agree a “broad outline” of a deal with the EU “capable of being finalised by September” in the next four months and if that does not happen it will decide whether to switch focus to leaving on WTO terms at the end of December. The mandate adds that if no agreement is in sight by June, the Government could ditch negotiations and focus on preparing to leave without a trade agreement, under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, and a range of mini-agreements on other areas.
For more information please click here.
EU ministers agree mandate
The EU mandate for post-Brexit trade talks with the UK has been approved by the EU General Affairs Council on Tuesday and will serve as “a reference point” and will be the basis for negotiations which are due to start next week. Michel Barnier will carry out talks on behalf of the EU. The EU’s mandate says that its “envisaged agreement should uphold common high standards, and corresponding high standards over time with Union standards as a reference point.” It says this should apply “in the areas of state aid, competition, state-owned enterprises, social and employment standards, environmental standards, climate change, relevant tax matters and other regulatory measures and practices in these areas.”
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UK wants to strike a “comprehensive free trade agreement” in 10 months, says Gove
Michael Gove has told MPs that the UK wants a trade agreement in place within the next 10 months and that the Government would not accept any alignment with EU laws as the EU is demanding. Mr Gove said “We will not trade away our sovereignty.” Mr Gove also said “Geography is no reason to undermine democracy. We will not be seeking to dynamically align with EU rules on EU terms governed by EU laws and EU institutions.” The UK’s negotiating team will be led by Boris Johnson’s Europe adviser David Frost and will begin next week.
For more information please click here.
French President unsure whether UK-EU trade deal possible by deadline
French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is “not sure” a UK-EU trade deal will be struck by the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December and said the negotiations which are due to start on 2 March will be “tense”. He said that fishing rights could create issues in negotiations following the UK saying it will consider a deal on fisheries but it must be based on the notion that “British fishing grounds are first and foremost for British boats”.
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Commercial
Government announces £49.2 billion package of funding for local councils
Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced the biggest increase in councils’ spending power for a decade. He confirmed that councils in England will have access to a share of £49.2 billion in 2020 to 2021. In his announcement Mr Jenrick said “This Government is committed to levelling up every part of the country, investing in every region and giving communities control over making the decisions which are right for them. That’s why we’re confirming the biggest increase in councils’ spending power for a decade across England, while protecting residents from excessive rises in council tax.” The settlement will include more funding for social care with £1.5 billion of new funding available for adult and children’s social care. It also hopes that the settlement will mean that residents can expect to see the lowest increase in council tax bills since 2016. Core funding will be increased in line with inflation and as a result of increased growth in business rates income, the Government will redistribute £40 million of the levy surplus to all councils on the basis of assessed need. There will also be £907 million committed from the settlement to continue the New Homes Bonus scheme which will rewards councils for building new homes.
For more information please click here.
Council considers budget cuts of £37.9 million
Aberdeen City Council is being asked to consider budget cuts of £37.9 million for the coming year in a bid to find possible savings. The budget report, which will be considered next week, also proposes a 3% council tax rise to provide further funding for the council. Council co-leader Douglas Lumsden said “Over the next week myself and other administration leaders will be looking at what we can cut. We will also be looking at income, where we can actually raise income.” Other ways of cutting costs which are to be considered will include dimming street lights and removing non-statutory crèche provision.
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Regulatory
Outdated regulations force councils to recover council tax debts
Charity Citizens Advice has warned that people are being pushed into ‘desperate’ hardship as a result of outdated Government regulations which force councils to use the courts and bailiffs to recover council tax debts. Even if one payment is missed people are being forced to pay off their entire council tax bill. The research from the charity found that if an average council tax payment of £167 was missed in the first month of the financial year then the debt can escalate to over £2,000 in nine weeks. Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice said “Government regulations push local authorities to use harsh collection processes. They pile rapidly-escalating debts on people who barely have enough money to get by.” The LGA is now calling for councils to have more freedom to enable them to collect council tax debts in a more flexible way. Cllr Richard Watts, chair of the LGA’s Resources Board, said “Councils would be in favour of it being made easier for them to recover money without having to use bailiffs, and would support the removal of the requirement for the entire annual sum to become payable if an instalment is missed.”
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‘Protect Duty’ law could protect public spaces
Security minister, James Brokenshire, has announced Government proposals to create measures which would help to protect public spaces from terror attacks following campaigns which have highlighted the importance of venues and public spaces having effective and proportionate protective security and measures in place to keep people safe. The new measures would require councils to protect public spaces from terror attacks where they are the owner and operator of the public space and/or venue. Mr Brokenshire said “Of course, it is important that this new law is proportionate. This public consultation will ensure we put in place a law that will help protect the public while not putting undue pressure on businesses.” The LGA has welcomed the proposals but noted that any new responsibilities for councils must be Government funded and provide councils with required powers to implement this. Councillor Simon Blackburn of the LGA said “consideration needs to be given to what licensing and planning powers councils might need to be able to drive improvements in the way public space is designed and operated to make it safer.”
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Information Commission gives guidance on “public authorities” in the Environmental Information Regulations 2004
Two recent decisions of the Information Commissioner have shed more light on the principle that private companies can be “public authorities” for the purposes of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (the “EIRs”). Regulation 2(2) of the EIRs provides that a “public authority” means Government departments and other public authorities (using the definition set out in the Freedom of Information Act 2000). However, the definition also covers other organisations that carry out functions of public administration or other organisations that have public responsibilities relating to the environment. In a recent decision the Information Commissioner held that E.ON UK plc was a public authority for the purposes of the EIRs as although it is a private company, it was a body that carried out functions of public administration and had been entrusted with the performance of a public service by statute. In another decision the Information Commissioner held that Heathrow Airport Ltd was a public authority as there was sufficient connection between the functions of the company and the functions the state undertake.
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Planning and housing
Court orders council to secure suitable accommodation
A High Court judge has issued a mandatory order to London Borough of Newham which gives them 12 weeks to secure that suitable accommodation is available to a claimant and his family. The claimant lives with his wife and four children, one of whom has various conditions and disabilities which impact the type of accommodation the family requires. The family had lived in temporary accommodation for 13 years however as the child with disabilities grew older they required a larger property. The council secured a four bedroom property for the family but the claimant said that the accommodation was not suitable and refused the offer but temporarily lived in the accommodation while they awaited a review of the council’s decision, which following a medical assessment of the child, was found to be not suitable however the family were not offered any alternative accommodation while the proceedings were ongoing. The judge found that the council was in breach of its duty under section 193(2) of the Housing Act 1996 and made a mandatory order which gave the council 12 weeks to secure suitable accommodation for the family.
For more information please click here.
Delays revealed for new homes
New analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) has revealed that more than a million homes which have been granted planning permission in the last ten years have not yet been built with 2,564,600 units being granted planning permission by councils since 2009/10 but only 1,530,680 have been completed. The LGA is calling on the Government to use its planning white paper to give councils powers to take action on unbuilt land which has planning permission which will include powers which make it easier to compulsory purchase land where homes remain unbuilt, and to be able to charge developers full council tax for every unbuilt development from the point that the original planning permission expires. Cllr David Renard, LGA housing spokesman, said “The planning system is not a barrier to house building. The number of homes granted planning permission has far outpaced the number of homes being built.”
For more information please click here.
New Homes Ombudsman will protect homebuyers
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced that the Government is creating a new, independent Ombudsman, the New Homes Ombudsman, who will protect homebuyers from rogue developers. The Ombudsman will be created under new legislation which will also require developers to belong to the New Homes Ombudsman and will underpin a code of practice for developments and provide the Ombudsman with statutory powers to award compensation, ban rogue developers from building, and order developers to fix poor building work. The New Homes Ombudsman will also provide a clear route for purchasers of new build homes to complain when things have gone wrong and provide effective redress through alternative dispute resolution, avoiding the need to go to court.
For more information please click here.
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.
The UK in transition: What does it mean for our business?
Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking session centred around the emerging consequences of Brexit, the UK’s pending trade deal with Europe and what it all means for business in our region.
Wednesday 18th March (Newcastle)
Housing Management Law School – Spring Term 2020
Join us for the latest series of Housing Management Law Schools, where our social housing experts will be discussing the most recent news and hot topics.
Thursday 30th April (Newcastle)
Wednesday 6th May (Manchester)
Annual PFI law update
The seminars are designed by a team acknowledged as the best advisors in this sector making these sessions essential for those seeking the latest insight into the topical issues, opportunities and risks of the PFI landscape.
Thursday 14th May (Newcastle am)
Thursday 14th May (Newcastle pm)
Thursday 21st May (Manchester)
Annual procurement law update
The seminars are designed to provide you with a unique opportunity to hear first-hand from our leading procurement experts who will share their thoughts on the most topical issues of the moment.
Thursday 1st October (Newcastle am)
Thursday 1st October (Newcastle pm)
Thursday 8th October (Manchester)
Thursday 19th November (London)
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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