Local Authority round-up – 30/08/19

Brexit

Attempt to block Parliament suspension is underway

Seventy five parliamentarians have begun a legal action in Scotland to prevent the prorogation (shutdown) of Parliament and are seeking an injunction. A Scottish judge has refused to order a temporary halt and the full hearing will be next Tuesday.  Aidan O’Neill QC, representing the parliamentarians, argued that a previous case, involving Telegraph owners the Barclay brothers, saw them successfully challenge the validity of Privy Council advice to the Queen and noted that in a separate case it was decided that there was an “obligation on the sovereign to recall an order of prorogation” if the court was satisfied there had been an “abuse of power.”  The parliamentarians are hoping that the action will lead the court to rule that shutting down Parliament ahead of Brexit would be “both unlawful and unconstitutional” and would have “irreversible legal, constitutional and practical implications for the United Kingdom.”

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Decision to suspend Parliament causes outrage

Following Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament which was approved by the Queen, there has been an angry backlash from across the country.  An e-petition on the government’s website demanding Parliament not be suspended reached more than a million signatures in less than a day and protests began in Westminster.  The decision has also led to many resignations which include Conservative peer Lord Young of Cookham resigning from his role as government whip in the House of Lords and Ruth Davidson quitting as leader of the Scottish Conservatives. Opposition parties issued a joint statement demanding that Boris Johnson backtrack on his plan.

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Queen agrees to suspend Parliament

Boris Johnson asked the Queen to suspend Parliament as a Queen’s speech would be required to outline Boris Johnson’s plans and the Queen has agreed. Three Conservative members of the Queen’s Privy Council took the request to suspend Parliament to the Queen which she approved. It is established precedent for Parliament to be suspended before a Queen’s speech however House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said it was a “constitutional outrage” and Senior Tory backbencher Dominic Grieve called the move “an outrageous act.” It is suggested that the request was made in order to stop MPs from passing legislation which would prevent a no-deal Brexit. The suspension will take place no earlier than Monday 9 September nor later than Thursday 12 September and will last until Monday 14 October. Boris Johnson denies allegations that the suspension was motivated by his desire to force through a no-deal Brexit.

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Opposition party agree strategy to block no-deal Brexit

Jeremy Corbyn invited opposition party leaders to a meeting to discuss ways a no-deal Brexit can be avoided and the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Change UK, Plaid Cymru and Green Party have all attended to discuss his proposals. If he wins a no confidence vote Corbyn said he intended to delay Brexit, call an election and campaign for another referendum. The opposition MPs have now agreed that they will try to block a no-deal Brexit by passing legislation in Parliament and also confirmed that using a vote of no confidence remained an option.

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Alternative plans for the Northern Ireland backstop

A team of experts have drawn up a plan to replace the Northern Ireland backstop which proposes that the UK and EU are free to have distinct regulatory systems and customs regimes but that the UK and Ireland make it a criminal offence to knowingly export goods across the Irish border hat would break regulatory rules on the other side. The plan also proposes to set up a network of EU Trade Centres in both the UK and Ireland where goods from the EU or the UK would be processed before leaving the relevant territory which would prevent the need for customs checks at the border. The plan has apparently drawn “considerable interest” but it is unknown whether it has been shared with EU officials or the UK Government.

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“I think it’s the job of everybody in Parliament to get this thing done” says Johnson

Speaking at the G7 summit in France, Boris Johnson said he was “marginally more optimistic” about striking a new deal with the EU on Brexit and reiterated that it was the job of Parliament to deliver Brexit. He did not however confirm whether he would suspend Parliament to stop it preventing a no-deal Brexit. Speaking on Brexit he went on to say “I think it’s what the people want, I also think, by the way, it’s what our friends and partners on the other side of the Channel want – they want it over.”

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UK will not nominate new Commissioner to the EU ahead of Brexit

As the UK prepares to leave the EU on 31 October, the UK’s Permanent Representative to the EU Sir Tim Barrow has written to the EU to confirm that the UK will not be nominating a candidate for the 2019-2024 College of Commissioners. The new Commission will not be taking up office until 1 November at which point the UK should have left the EU and therefore we will not need a new Commissioner. Secretary of State for the Department for Exiting the EU Steve Barclay said “We are leaving the EU on 31 October. As a departing member state we will not be involved in the new Commission so it would be a distraction to nominate a new Commissioner. This is part of the UK’s ongoing preparations for Brexit which allows us to focus on our future relationship with the EU while continuing to explore new opportunities with partners across the world.”

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Experts warn freedom of movement cannot end on Brexit day

Following an announcement from the Home Office that EU freedom of movement would end immediately on Brexit day, migration experts have said that this is not possible as the UK has no system to work out who is legally in the country and employers would have no way to tell whether or not the EU national have arrived before or after 31 October. This is because currently EU nationals do not have to register their arrival in the UK so the Home Office does not have any records of when they arrived. Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory, said “Even if the Government knew exactly what it wanted the post-Brexit immigration system to look like, it wouldn’t be possible to implement it immediately after a no-deal Brexit. That’s because any new restrictions on EU migration can’t be enforced unless UK employers know which EU citizens have been here for years and which ones arrived post-Brexit and have to comply with the new immigration regime.”

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Further £9 million for Brexit preparations

The Government has announced £5 million is to be made available for local councils which have or are near to a major air, land or sea port to ensure they can continue to operate efficiently when the UK leaves the EU. The funding can be used to buy in additional staff and expertise when necessary but will not be used to fund the infrastructure of ports as this will be provided by the Department for Transport. There will also be £4 million for local resilience forums in order develop plans for Brexit and support additional staffing costs.  Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said “We have stepped up our preparedness significantly in recent weeks, including by asking every council to appoint a Brexit Lead Officer. Now we are releasing an additional £9 million of additional funding today to help local areas get ready for Brexit, whatever the circumstances.”

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Commercial

Additional 50 towns to benefit from High Streets Fund

The Prime Minister has confirmed that an additional 50 towns will benefit from the £1 billion Future High Streets Fund which can be used to improve transport and access to town centres, converting empty retail units into housing and workplaces and to invest in vital infrastructure.  With 50 areas already benefitting from the fund another 50 will also now receive up to £150,000 to assist with their proposals.  Mr Johnson said “we’re today expanding the High Streets Fund to support over 100 high streets to regenerate – backed by £1 billion of vital investment.  This scheme is going to reenergise and transform even more of our high streets – helping them to attract new businesses, boost local growth, and create new infrastructure and jobs.”

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Children’s social care budget exceeded by £800 million

The combination of funding shortages and demand pressures forced councils to overspend on their children’s social care budgets by nearly £800m last year, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned.  A new analysis from the LGA shows that councils budgeted an additional £542m in 2018/19 for children’s social care, but were forced to spend £770m more than planned.  Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board said “It is therefore vital that the Government uses the upcoming Spending Round to fully fund the demand on children’s services next year to allow councils to provide the vital support that children and families rely on.”

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Council spends nearly £50 million to invest for the future

South Somerset council has spent almost £50 million buying property to fund its front-line services in the future including a range of commercial investments in the hope the return on those investments can be used to fund services as grants from the government are continuing to be cut.  Councillor John Clark said “This investment is the latest success in achieving the commercial strategy for generating income to continue the provision of public services. We are pleased to report that our investments to date and projected gross and net returns are all on target.”

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Regulatory

‘Special event’ orders can be used to close roads

The Department for Transport has announced that advertising for street parties is no longer needed for road closure approval and that instead councils are able to produce ‘special event’ orders which will allow for roads to be temporarily closed ‘for children’s play’ without the need for prior advertising of the closure.  Road Minister Baroness Vere said “A generation ago, it was common to see young people playing out in the streets but today it can be a rare sight. That’s why today I’m delighted to be making it easier for those who want to create Play Streets.”

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Regulations for phone masts could be scrapped as part of 5G roll out

As part of the roll out of 5G masts in the UK, Labour has suggested that the current height regulations which stipulate that mobile masts on public land do not exceed 25 metres could be relaxed and will not require council approval.  It is thought that by allowing taller masts they would allow for more equipment to be added and therefore fewer masts would be needed but coverage in rural areas would still be improved.

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Planning and housing

Lack of housing forces children to live in overcrowded homes

A report published by the National Housing Federation calculates that around 1.3 million children from more than 600,000 families are stuck in overcrowded conditions because there is a lack of suitable housing available.  Homes are considered to be ‘overcrowded’ if a child has to share their bedroom with two or more other children, sleep in the same room as their parents, or share with a teenager of the opposite sex.  The statistics found that in more than a quarter of overcrowded homes children have to share a bed with a parent or sibling and some are often forced to sleep in kitchens, bathrooms or hallways because of a lack of space.  The National Housing Federation is calling on the government to invest £12.8 billion every year for the next decade to build new social homes.

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‘Permitted Development Rights’ restricting residential developments

According to research councils are preventing retail space being converted to residential property under to ‘Permitted Development Rights’ which allow developers to convert commercial property to residential use without a full planning application.  Research found that the number of retail properties approved for conversion to residential property has dropped 17% in the last year, from 453 in 2017/18 to just 376 in 2018/19.

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Reform needed for Right to Buy scheme

Council leaders are calling for the Government to use next month’s Spending Round to reform the Right to Buy (RTB) scheme which is restricting councils from replacing homes sold.  The number currently being sold under the RTB scheme is significantly less than the number of new houses councils are able to build and more than six times as many homes sold under RTB as those built by councils in 2017/18.  Currently councils keep a third and the rest are kept by the Treasury but the LGA is urging for a reform to allow councils to keep 100 percent of RTB receipts and set discounts locally in order to replace those homes which are being sold under the scheme.

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Council refuses planning permission application

Fareham Borough Council has refused planning permission for 261 homes on farming land on 21 grounds, including the proposal’s “adverse visual effect on the countryside” and “low quality”, which the council says outweigh its lack of a five-year housing land supply.  The planning application made by Persimmon Homes could only demonstrate 4.66 years of housing land supply which was less than the National Planning Policy Framework’s required five years.  Persimmon said the “vast majority” of the 21 reasons for refusal are “technical matters capable of being resolved, or issues relating to the lack of a Section 106, which Persimmon would have gladly entered into.”

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Plans for new national model for shared ownership

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has revealed plans for a new national model for share ownership which will help thousands of low earners to get onto the housing ladder by enabling people to buy homes in 1% increments as opposed to 10%.  He also announced plans to reform the planning system and make homes more affordable in a bid to boost home ownership.  Revealing the plans he said “My mission is to increase the number of homes that are being delivered and to get more young people and families onto the housing ladder, particularly those on lower incomes.  That’s why I am announcing radical changes to shared ownership so we can make it simpler and easier for tens of thousands trying to buy their own home.”

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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)

HR and employment law update

Hear from Ward Hadaway’s employment specialists who will ensure that you are kept up-to-date with the latest developments in employment law.

Thursday 28th November (Middlesbrough)

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