Local Authority round-up 29/06/19

Brexit

United Kingdom risks “unravelling” over Brexit

Gordon Brown has warned that Brexit could cause significant problems in the future of the United Kingdom with the union between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland being “more at risk” than at any time in 300 years. In the 2016 referendum Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay in the EU while Wales and England voted to leave.  Nicola Sturgeon has already indicated that there will be another independence vote for Scotland in 2021 if the UK leaves the EU against Scotland’s will and the SNP’s former deputy leader has said that a no-deal Brexit would be contrary to Scotland’s wishes and if ignored “it leads us closer to independence”.

For more information, please click here.

Members appointed to Technical Alternative Arrangements Advisory Group

The Government has established the Technical Alternative Arrangements Advisory Group which is made up of technical experts in customs and trade with the aim of finding workable alternatives to the Northern Ireland backstop to ensure there is no hard border when the UK leaves the EU.  There will be two further groups established, one comprised of business and trade unions and a third made up of parliamentarians.  Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Jesse Norman, said “This group represents a broad spectrum of views and expertise, all of which will be needed to achieve our economic, fiscal and security objectives in the unique circumstances of the Northern Ireland land border.”

For more information, please click here.

Tory leadership rivals divided over Brexit

Whilst Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt both claim they can renegotiate the Brexit deal, their plans for leaving the EU are very different.  Boris Johnson has said that he will leave the EU by the 31 October deadline with or without a deal and wants to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement to remove the backstop.  On the other hand Jeremy Hunt has called the 31 October deadline a “fake deadline” and said he would be prepared to leave without a deal but this is not his preferred option and he wants changes to the Withdrawal Agreement but thinks this can be done by 31 October but if not, he has not ruled out an extension.

For more information, please click here.

UK Government publishes ‘mapping exercise’ in Ireland

The House of Commons Exiting the European Union Committee has published a UK Government scoping document on north-south co-operation on the island of Ireland.  It outlines the 142 areas of joint north-south co-operation in Ireland and shows the extent to which each area relied on the Good Friday Agreement and on EU legal and policy frameworks which formed the drafting of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland in the draft withdrawal agreement. The Protocol includes the backstop and sets out the arrangements needed to avoid a hard border in Ireland, maintain the necessary conditions for continued north-south co-operation and protect the Good Friday Agreement.  Article 13 of the Protocol requires the Protocol to be implemented and applied so as to maintain the necessary conditions for continued north-south co-operation, including in the areas of environment, health, agriculture, transport, education, tourism, energy, telecommunications, broadcasting, inland fisheries, justice and security, higher education and sport.  On 21 June 2019, the European Commission published a report, addressed to the EU27 member states and the European Parliament’s Brexit steering group, which summarises the main findings of the mapping exercise.

For more information, please click here.

EU confirms it will not renegotiate Withdrawal Agreement

A spokesperson for the European Commission has said “I can confirm, as has been repeated several times, we will not be renegotiating the Withdrawal Agreement, full stop.”  Boris Johnson has said that he would re-open talks with the EU to negotiate a new Brexit deal which would include replacing the backstop and has suggested he would withhold payment of the £39billion financial settlement if the EU would not agree to make changes to the treaty.  Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has said that all 27 EU leaders were “unanimous” that there should be no renegotiation of the deal.

For more information, please click here.

Commercial

£155.3 million loans agreed to deliver new homes

Housing Minister, Kit Malthouse MP, has announced that Homes England and Barclays have agreed £155.3 million of loan funding to accelerate the construction of 660 new homes in Wimbledon and Southampton under the £1 Housing Delivery Fund which was announced in September last year. £150 million will be loaned to Merton Catalyst LLP to build 604 apartments in Wimbledon and £5.3 million loaned to Cannon Capital Developments to build 56 apartments in Southampton.

For more information, please click here.

£778 million investment for 2022 Commonwealth Games

The Government has confirmed that Birmingham and the West Midlands region will benefit from a £778 million investment to stage the 2022 Commonwealth Games, with £594 million investment from central government and £184 million from Birmingham City Council and key partners. Mims Davies MP, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, said “The Games budget is a significant investment in Birmingham and the region that will deliver benefits to local people for years to come. It will increase participation and encourage more people to get active and stay active, and to volunteer to be part of this fantastic event 10 years on from London 2012.”

For more information, please click here.

Shared council services save taxpayers millions

The recent shared services map published by the Local Government Association (LGA), which contains information that has been directly provided by councils, shows that there are now 626 individual shared service arrangements across the country resulting in £1.34 billion of efficiency savings. These savings demonstrate how councils are now working together to share best practice to deliver efficient services. Lord Porter, LGA Chairman, said “Councils have embraced efficiency and innovation in a way that is not seen anywhere else in the public sector and these fantastic new figures show they, once again, remain at the forefront of cost-effective service delivery.”

For more information, please click here.

Regulatory

Guidance for councils on Blue Badge disabled parking scheme

The Department for Transport has issued guidance for councils in England on administering and enforcing the Blue Badge disabled parking scheme which includes the role of councils which are responsible for the day-to day administration and enforcement of the scheme. The guidance aims to help councils put in place administration, assessment and enforcement practices which are fair and consistent, customer-friendly and clear, timely and cost-effective and resistant to abuse.

For more information, please click here.

LGA responds to NHS report

In response to a report published by the Health and Social Care Select Committee ‘NHS Long-Term Plan’, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board said “we are pleased that the report shares our concerns that current proposals are too NHS-focused and that NHS England, NHS Improvement and the Department for Health and Social Care need to give greater consideration to the role and contribution of councils in the wider health and social care system.” Mr Hudspeth also agreed that “legal reforms should allow councils to be equal partners on joint committees alongside Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS providers.”

For more information, please click here.

Planning and housing

Funding for new homes for adults with learning difficulties

Homes England has provided £270,000 of funding from their affordable homes programme to transform a former court building into 16 supported living apartments for adults with learning disabilities in Halifax. The conversion will also include a sleep room for support workers. Dilys Jones, Head of Home Ownership and Supply for Homes England in the North East said “Our ambition is to ensure the public sector land and buildings we inherit support local plans and local ambitions. We’re pleased to see this historic building being brought back into use as much needed affordable homes that enable adults with learning disabilities lead independent lives at the heart of their community.”

For more information, please click here.

Prime Minister delivers speech on housing

Theresa May delivered a speech on housing on 26 June in which she identified that the number of affordable homes has increased year on year but that there needs to be reforms to design laws to ensure high quality homes which are affordable and safe. She called for new regulations to mandate developers to build higher-quality housing which would be universal and provide clear, national standards. She also announced that the practice of ‘no-fault’ evictions would be brought to an end with section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act being repealed under a consultation which will be published shortly and legislation introduced later this year.

For more information, please click here.

598 new homes on Northfleet Embankment

Following a deal between Homes England and developer Keepmoat Homes, 598 homes will be built at Northfleet Embankment over six years. The development will also include a primary school, local amenities, open space and a Fastrack bus connection. The first homes are expected to be complete by 2020 and the rest of the development is expected to be complete by 2025.

For more information, please click here.

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