Highlights

The LGA was mentioned  41 times in Parliament this week.

MPs approve final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2018/19

On Tuesday the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government laid the final settlement via a written statement, and MPs debated this on Wednesday. The final settlement included an extra £166 million for local government, in an addition to the £16 million earmarked in the provisional settlement in December and extra New Homes Bonus rewards. As we highlighted in our briefing, additional funding from central government is welcome but councils are still facing a funding gap that will exceed £5 billion in 2019/20, as well as a £1.3 billion pressure to stabilise the adult social care provider market today. During the debate MPs quoted widely from our briefing – pointing to the funding pressures facing adult social care, children’s services and homelessness support – and called for these to be addressed with a substantial injection of new money from central government. Ministers reiterated the Government’s ambition for local government to become more self-sufficient. The motion was carried and the reports approved.

For more information please contact Mel.

LGA gives evidence on council finances

On Monday our Vice-Chair, Cllr David Simmonds, gave evidence to the Communities and Local Government Committee’s inquiry into business rates retention. This inquiry focuses on the delay in implementation of further business rates retention, the Fair Funding Review, and councils’ financial planning. The witnesses across the two panels were politicians and officers from councils and representative bodies of local government. Panellists were unanimous about the increasing financial pressures facing councils, with funding gaps facing adult social care and children’s services being particularly acute. Cllr Simmonds urged the Government to use further business rates retention to address these pressures, by devolving the central share without new responsibilities. On the Fair Funding Review, Cllr Simmonds said that while it is important to have a fair system of distribution, the review must be implemented alongside greater overall funding for local government. These were points reiterated by the Committee Chair, LGA Vice-President Clive Betts MP, in the finance settlement debate this week.

For more information please contact Mel.

Debate on the role of women in public life

 On Monday the House of Lords debated the role of women in public life and the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918. The LGA briefed ahead of the debate. Peers spoke about the need to increase the proportion of councillors, metro mayors, and MPs who are women, and paid tribute to the women and men who had fought for greater equality. Baroness Eaton (Conservative) spoke about the suffrage pioneers project, on which the LGA has partnered with the Women’s Local Government Society. LGA Vice-Presidents Baroness Eaton (Conservative) and Baroness Jones (Green) spoke about the LGA’s Be a Councillor campaign and the need to look at issues of parental leave, pensions, and intimidation. Responding to a question on what the Government is doing to improve the situation, Minister Baroness Williams said they were commissioning evidence of best practice in the UK and internationally and aim to offer the political parties a range of options they can adopt. She told Peers that MHCLG recently held a roundtable with local government representatives to understand what support the Government can provide.

For more information please contact Charlotte. 

MPs debate housing and planning

On Tuesday, MPs debated the Government’s policy on housing, planning and the green belt. We published a briefing outlining the funding councils need to boost housebuilding and properly resource planning departments. Opening the debate, Laurence Robertson MP (Conservative, Tewkesbury), called for greater local flexibility in the planning process, a point which was echoed by several MPs on all sides. LGA Vice-President, Wera Hobhouse MP (Liberal Democrat, Bath) raised our call for the housing borrowing cap to be lifted entirely to enable councils to build, and spoke about the need to ensure that housing is genuinely affordable. In response, Housing Minister, Dominic Raab MP (Conservative, Esher and Walton) cited the £866 million tranche of the Housing Infrastructure Fund announced last week, and suggested the social housing green paper would contain measures to increase genuinely affordable housing.

For more information please contact Tom.

Homelessness Reduction Act to come into force

The Government has announced that the Homelessness Reduction Act, which introduces new homelessness duties for councils, will come into force on 3 April 2018. During the Act’s passage we worked with the Government shape the legislation into something that was more deliverable and secured £72.7 million in new burdens funding. We continue to express concerns over the level of funding and the timetable for implementation. For a run-down of the Act’s main provisions you can refer to our guide to the legislation.

For more information please contact Tom.

MPs debate NHS Winter Crisis

On Monday, Jonathan Ashworth MP (Labour, Leicester South), the Shadow Minister for Health, tabled an Urgent Question for an update on the NHS winter crisis. Responding for the Government, Stephen Barclay MP (Conservative, North East Cambridgeshire) the Minister of State for Health, stated that the primary cause of pressures on the NHS this winter was the high number of flu cases. Mr Ashworth called on the Government to provide the NHS with the funding it needs. Dr Sarah Wollaston MP (Conservative, Totnes) argued that ‘pressures in the NHS cannot be viewed in isolation from pressures in the community’, which the Minister agreed with, stating that the recent appointment of a Minister for Care was intended to address this point. Sir Vince Cable MP (Liberal Democrat, Twickenham) asked the Government for its response to recent calls for a hypothecated tax to provide stable funding for the health and social care system. The Minister responded that a fully funded NHS requires a strong economy.

For more information please contact Nina.

Peers debate NHS Winter Crisis

On Wednesday, Lord Clark of Windermere (Labour) tabled a question for the Government regarding the effectiveness of planning to cope with NHS pressures this winter, making the point that a reduction in NHS spending is one of the major causes of the current pressures the NHS. Responding, the Minister Lord O’Shaughnessy rejected this argument, agreed that more money for the NHS is needed, but said that more money was also found in the Budget. Further calls were made for the Government to address the high rates of bed occupancy across the NHS and for winter planning funding to made available sooner.

For more information please contact Nina.

Health and social care questions

Health and Social Care Ministers took questions from MPs this week on a range of issues, including the integration of local health and social care services, mental health service provision for children and young people, meeting the cost of care and STPs. In response to a question on the steps being taken to integrate local health and social care services, Caroline Dinenage MP (Conservative, Gosport), Minister for Care, stated that the renaming of the Department of Health and Social Care reflects both their interdependence and the Government’s commitment to achieving co-ordinated care tailored to individual needs. Responding to a call from Ellie Reeves MP (Labour, Lewisham West and Penge) to address waiting times for children and young people to receive mental health treatment, Jeremy Hunt MP (Conservative, South West Surrey) stated that the Government is taking action and all Clinical Commission Groups will increase their spending on mental health.

For more information please contact Nina.

Select Committees investigate Carillion failings

Carillion was the topic of two select committee hearings this week. On Tuesday a joint Work and Pensions and BEIS Committee took evidence from the senior management. The session focused on the financial management of the business, issues with cash flow, and the pension deficit. The witnesses said that there was early and regular dialogue with the Cabinet Office through their Crown Representative.

On Wednesday the Liaison Committee, which is made up of the chairs of other select committees, took evidence from the National Audit Office, the Cabinet Office Minister, David Lidington MP (Conservative, Aylesbury) and senior civil servants. The Committee was told that the NAO will work to understand the impact on sub-contractors, employees, pensioners and local government. Clive Betts MP, Chair of the Communities and Local Government Committee, asked about the number of contracts Carillion had with local government. The witnesses said that there were 350 contracts with NHS partners and councils. Asked about extra cost to councils of transferring contracts and staff, the witnesses said that there shouldn’t be additional costs as the official receiver should be dealing with this, unless local councils decide to find their own suppliers or bring the services in-house. MPs were told that the Cabinet Office is there to give councils advice and assistance.

 For more information please contact Charlotte. 

Ministerial Statements

This week there were a number of Written Ministerial Statements of interest to local government including on Carillion and local government improvement in Suffolk. The full statements can be found online.

PMQs

This week’s exchange saw Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn MP, question the Prime Minister, Theresa May MP, on cuts to police budgets and rising crime. Mr Corbyn highlighted particular concerns about threats to the capacity of neighbourhood policing. In response, the Prime Minister pointed to improvements in the way the police are recording crime, and praised Home Office initiatives on modern slavery and other issues.

There were questions from the backbenchers on local plans, development, Universal Credit and rough sleeping.

For more information please contact Tim. 

New consultations and responses

Proposed changes to the prudential framework of capital finance

The Government published a consultation document on the proposed changes to Local Authorities Investments Guidance and the Minimum Revenue Provision Guidance in November 2017. This document sets out decisions the government has taken, as a basis for updating the prudential framework.

 Local authority development – effect of planning permission

In the housing white paper the Government consulted on a proposal (question 5) to allow all local authorities to dispose of land with the benefit of planning permission they have granted themselves. This is a summary of the responses received and sets out the Government’s response. The Government’s response to other proposals in the white paper will be published in due course.

Looking ahead

• Parliament is now in recess, returning on Tuesday 20 February.

Tuesday 20 February 

• Debate on level of funding by Arts Council England for coalfield communities (John Mann MP, Labour, Bassetlaw), House of Commons

• Debate on social housing and regeneration in Earls Court and West Kensington (Andy Slaughter MP, Labour, Hammersmith), House of Commons

• Debate on recruitment and retention of NHS staff in Oxfordshire (Layla Moran MP, Liberal Democrat, Oxford West and Abingdon), House of Commons

• Question on improving social care for disabled people below retirement age (Baroness Campbell, Crossbench), House of Lords

• Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill, Second Reading, House of Lords

Wednesday 21 February

• Cabinet Office Questions, House of Commons

• European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, Committee Stage (Day 1), House of Lords

• Finance (No. 2) Bill, Remaining Stages, House of Commons

• Debate on alternatives to a no-deal outcome in negotiations with the EU (Antoinette Sandbach MP, Conservative, Eddisbury), House of Commons

• PAC, reducing modern slavery, evidence from Phillip Rutnam, Permanent  Secretary, Home Office, House of Commons

• Debate on application of TUPE to Carillion workers (Eleanor Smith MP, Labour, Wolverhampton South West), House of Commons

• Debate on loss of retention monies by small firms following insolvency of Carillion (Lord Aberdare, Crossbench), House of Lords

• Question on local neighbourhood services (Lord Greaves, Liberal Democrat), House of Lords

Thursday 22 February

• Women and Equalities Questions, House of Commons

• Debate on City of London Corporation’s pension scheme obligations (Kate Hoey MP, Labour, Vauxhall), House of Commons

Friday 23 February

• Private Members’ Bills, House of Commons

Get in touch

If you have queries in relation to the items above or any other parliamentary issues, please feel free to get in touch with the Public Affairs team.