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The LGA was mentioned 25 times in Parliament this week.
LGA evidence: domestic abuse inquiry
Cllr Simon Blackburn, Chair of our Safer and Stronger
Communities Board, gave
evidence to the Home Affairs Committee inquiry into domestic abuse on
Monday. Appearing alongside domestic abuse charities and local support groups,
Cllr Blackburn told the Committee that councils want to prevent domestic abuse
from happening in the first place. He added that support for local refuges has
been hit by funding reductions in local government, and that the recent
increase in children entering care is linked to failing to prevent abuse
in the home. We are continuing to engage with Parliament on the Domestic Abuse
Bill.
For more information, get in touch with Tom.
Brexit
We have this week published our briefing
on the Brexit White Paper which sets out the key issues for local
government. This focuses on those we have previously identified in publications
like our Brexit
conference paper, and looking, where relevant, at the impact of a “no deal”
scenario. You can also find out more about our work on our Brexit
homepage.
For more information, get in touch with Lee.
Building safety
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee held
an inquiry into local authority support for Grenfell tower residents this week.
Following this, the Government published
a written ministerial statement updating on support for those affected by the
tragedy at Grenfell and broader building safety work. Alongside this, a revised
version of the building regulations fire safety guidance (known as Approved
Document B) has been published
for consultation and the Government has announced a wider technical review of
the guidance on fire safety. A call for evidence on the technical issues and
further improvements that could be made in the Approved Document will be
published in the Autumn. We continue to promote the work of local government to
ensure everyone is safe in the buildings they live, work and visit, including
in our response
to this week’s report from the HCLG Committee on building regulations and fire
safety.
For more information, get in touch with Mel.
Liaison Committee,
evidence from the Prime Minister
The Prime Minister gave
evidence to the Liaison Committee about the Government’s plans for Brexit
and improving air quality. The Prime Minister explained the White Paper and the
Chequers agreement had given the Government a basis from which to negotiate
with the EU. In response to questions about air quality, the Prime Minister
stated her commitment to leaving the environment in a better condition to that
which she inherited. Mrs May also explained the Department for Environment and
Rural Affairs had issued 33 Ministerial Orders for local authorities to develop
their feasibility studies, as well as providing £1.65 million to help.
For more information, get in touch with Nathan.
Mental Capacity
(Amendment Bill)
On Monday the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill had its
Second Reading in the House of Lords, which we briefed
ahead of. This Bill seeks to reform the current deprivation of liberty
safeguards (DoLS) system. We have long called for an overhaul of DoLS and welcomed
the introduction of this Bill. The Minister, Lord O’Shaughnessy, stated
that the reforms to DoLS that the Bill will bring in will make the process less
burdensome on people, carers, families and local authorities, creating savings
of more than £200 million a year. Later in the debate LGA Vice-President
Baroness Greengross (Crossbench) called for the transition to the proposed new
DoLS system to be properly funded, which we made the case for in our briefing.
For more information, get in touch with Nina.
Debate on provision
of public services in rural areas
In the debate
on Monday, LGA Vice-President Baroness Bakewell stated that the rural economy
is struggling and that cash-strapped local authorities are finding it increasingly
hard to deliver public services. Lord Gardiner of Kimble, the
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs, gave assurances that the Government will champion the
interests of rural Britain and to secure prosperity for rural communities. We
published our report
on the future of non-metropolitan England at our Conference last week which
highlights the pressures on rural communities ahead of the Spending Review.
For more information, get in touch with Nathan.
Peers debate empty homes premium
Parliament approved measures to enable councils to increase the Council Tax
empty homes premium this week. During Third
Reading of the Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax
(Empty Homes Premium) Bill, an amendment was passed which gives councils
discretion to levy up to 300 per cent on long-term empty homes from 2021.
Welcoming the change to the Bill, the Minister, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth,
said “it is right that we equip local authorities with greater powers, where a
100 per cent premium might not be sufficiently effective.” This follows our
calls for further flexibilities for local authorities to increase housing
supply.
For more information, get in touch with Tom.
HCLG Committee
session on the Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper
On Monday Dame Louise Casey and Lord Bourne (Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government) gave
evidence to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on the
Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper. LGA Vice President Bob Blackman MP
(Conservative, Harrow East) raised the LGA’s concerns about the increased
responsibilities councils have taken without the accompanying funding. Lord
Bourne said the role of local authorities would go out to consultation and
acknowledged the challenging financial climate that local authorities have been
experiencing.
For more information, get in touch with Nathan.
Statement and questions
In addition to the written
statement on Grenfell and building safety, there were a number of
statements and questions of interest to local government this week:
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A written
statement and oral
statement from the Department for Education
updated on new draft guidance on relationships and health education in schools.
This includes important measures on relationships and sex education, in
response to the campaigning of bodies including councils, and proposals to improve
children’s physical health and mental wellbeing. Our response is available online.
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The Home Office have
published written
statement on the Windrush generation which
announced a consultation on the design of the compensation scheme for those who
suffered loss or difficulty. This closes on 11 October.
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A written
statement from the Cabinet Office updated on
the recent voter ID pilots, and announced that they are inviting expressions of
interest from councils to run further pilots at the local government elections
in May 2019.
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The Government responded to the opposition day debate on school funding which
took place in April. Our briefing for this debate is available on our
website.
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The Government responded to the opposition day debate on social care which took
place in April. Our briefing for this debate is available on our
website.
- The Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs published a written statement on the Surface Water Management Action
Plan.
For more information please contact Mel.
PMQs
At PMQs, the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn MP, accused the Government of falling into
“chaos” and the proposals in the published White Paper were “obsolete”
following the Government’s U-turn from the Chequers agreement proposals. Mr
Corbyn also asked if the Government would publish a new White Paper. The Prime
Minister stated the Chequers agreement and the White Paper were the basis of
negotiations with the European Union and the Government would continue to
deliver on the result of the referendum. Backbench contributions of interest to
local government included Special Education Needs funding, the apprenticeship
Levy, mental health funding and funding for hospitals.
For more information, get in touch with Nathan.
Consultations
Common
mental health problems: identification and pathways to care
This consultation seeks the views on the provisional update.
This consultation closes on 27/07/2018
TfL:
Proposed changes to Mina Road junction with Old Kent Road
This consultation seeks the views on the proposed changes to
the Mina Road junction with Old Kent Road.
This consultation closes on 14/09/2018
Monday 23 July
- Housing, Communities and Local Government (including Topical
Questions), House of Commons
- Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Brexit
and local government, evidence from Councillor Paul Carter (Leader, Kent County
Council), Councillor Mark Crane (Board Member, District Councils Network),
Councillor Keith Stevens (Vice-Chair, National Association of Local Councils),
Councillor Ian Stewart (Deputy Leader, Cumbria County Council), House of
Commons
- Debate on the preparations and negotiations connected
to Brexit, Lord Callanan (Conservative), House of Lords
- Question on amending the Apprenticeship Levy to take account
of the concerns of the creative industries, Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrats),
House of Lords
Tuesday 24 July
- Health and Social Care (including Topical Questions), House
of Commons
- Health and Social Care Committee, work of the Secretary of
State, evidence from Matt Hancock MP (Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care), House of Commons
- General Debate, matters to be considered before the
forthcoming Adjournment, House of Commons
- Exiting the European Union Committee, the progress of the
UK’s negotiations on EU withdrawal, evidence from Dominic Raab MP (Secretary of
State, Department for Exiting the European Union), Oliver Robbins (Prime Minister's Europe Adviser), House of Commons
- Debate on First tier tribunals, section 24 powers and
enforcement on freeholders, Jim Fitzpatrick MP (Labour, Poplar and Limehouse),
House of Commons
- Debate on the remit of the Office of Budget Responsibility, Luke
Graham MP (Conservative, Ochil and South Perthshire), House of Commons
- Debate on family hubs Fiona Bruce MP (Conservative,
Congleton), House of Commons
- Question on implications for the domestic abuse strategy of
the default payment of Universal Credit to couples, Baroness Lister of
Burtersett (Labour), House of Lords
- Non-Domestic Rating (Nursery Grounds) Bill, Second Reading,
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative), House of Lords
- Home Education (Duty of Local Authorities) Bill, Third
Reading, Lord Soley (Labour), House of Lords
- Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill, Third Reading,
Baroness Donaghy (Labour), House of Lords
Wednesday 25 July
- Parliament in recess until 4 September
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.
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