|
Dear Colleague,
Welcome to the LGA Conservative Group’s newsletter, in which we highlight the latest information associated with COVID-19 and other topical issues.
At end of September, our Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced Winter Economy Plan, the next phase of Government planned economic response to coronavirus.
This includes a Job Support Scheme, which will see the Government subsidise the pay of employees who are working fewer hours, an extension to the Self Employment Income Support Scheme, an extension to the temporary VAT cut for the tourism and hospitality sectors and other flexibilities on business support.
The Winter Economy Plan will protect jobs and support those businesses that have been impacted by coronavirus and I welcome the announcement.
Recently I have also had a meeting with Priti Patel, Secretary of State for the Home Office, about asylum seekers. We discussed the challenges that some councils are currently facing to provide suitable placement for refugees and asylum seekers.
The Home Secretary wants to work with local government to address this issue and I have invited her to join one of our Conservative webinars as she was keen to speak to our members. We are in the process of securing a date for this webinar and will announce the details in due course.
Furthermore, on last Tuesday, I was pleased to welcome Luke Hall, Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government, to our Conservative meeting.
Luke spoke about the measures that government is taking to support councils across the country and thanked councils for the work they have been doing during this pandemic particularly around rough sleeping and domestic violence.
Finally, with the Conservative Party virtual Conference currently ongoing, there is still an opportunity to sign up for a pass, if you have not already done so.
In this year’s Party Conference, we sponsored the popular MHCLG Ministerial Q&A session, which took place on Sunday and was organised by the Conservative Councillors' Association.
Today we will be hosting a fringe event ‘Local Government Q&A’ from 3 pm – 4 pm and I look forward to virtually seeing you there.
As always, if there is anything I or our regional lead peers can do to assist, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can find more details about our lead peers at the bottom of this newsletter.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe OBE
Leader, LGA Conservative Group |
|
 |
For all the latest news from the LGA Conservative Group please follow us on Twitter at @LGACons
If you’d also like to subscribe to the LGA’s monthly e-bulletin of First Magazine, please visit the dedicated website.
Local Restrictions Support Grant
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published a guidance on the Local Restrictions Support Grant to support businesses that are required to close during localised restrictions.
Homelessness Reduction Act
MHCLG has published a response to the call for evidence and the independent evaluation of the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act. It reiterates the Government’s commitment to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping, particularly during the pandemic.
Culture on the high street
Arts Council England has published two new reports into the benefits culture has for the high street.
Flooding
The Government has extended the £5,000 grant scheme for homes and business properties affected by flooding last winter. The extension will allow more time for residents and business owners to apply for funding from the eligible councils who administer the fund.
Personal protective equipment
The Government has published its new PPE Strategy. This sets out its plans to prepare a resilient supply chain of PPE for a second wave of COVID-19, alongside usual seasonal pressures.
Commercial skills for councillors
The LGA has developed two new masterclasses to support councillors as their local authorities refocus commercial activity that has been impacted by COVID-19. To find out more please visit the Commercial skills for councillors web page.
Conservative Regional Lead Peers
The regional lead peers and the areas they cover are as follows:
- Lord Porter of Spalding CBE - National Lead Peer & Regional Lead Peer for the South East
- Councillor Paul Middlebrough - Regional Lead Peer for the South West, Hampshire and Isle of Wight
- Councillor William Nunn - Regional Lead Peer for the East of England
- Councillor Teresa O’Neill OBE - Regional Lead Peer for London
- Councillor Glen Sanderson JP - Regional Lead Peer for the East Midlands, North East and Yorkshire & Humber
- Councillor Mike Wilcox - Regional Lead Peer for the West Midlands and North West.
|
