Highlights
The LGA was mentioned 5 times in Parliament this week.
National restrictions
The Prime Minister gave a statement to the House of Commons on the new coronavirus measures announced last Saturday evening. In his statement, he said that people would only be permitted to leave their homes for specific reasons for the next four weeks, including for education, work, exercise, medical reasons, to shop for food and essential items and to provide care for vulnerable people. All non-essential businesses must close, including hospitality. Mr Johnson noted that support bubbles are still in place for single adult households and while they are not asking people to shield again, those who are clinically extremely vulnerable should only work from home. MPs and Peers subsequently voted for the restrictions on Wednesday evening, and were in place midnight on Thursday.
For more information get in touch with laura.johnson@local.gov.uk.
COVID-19 data
Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chair of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, provided oral evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s inquiry into COVID-19 and data. Cllr Hudspeth appeared alongside Cllr Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council, Joanne Rooney, Chief Executive of Manchester City Council and Jeanelle de Gruchy, President of the Association of Directors of Public Health. In the session, Cllr Hudspeth noted how data sharing between public services has been essential to support the most vulnerable in our communities. However, Cllr Hudspeth said that data flows from national to local government (including from the NHS to councils) have not always worked well and that often, this was because basic good practice for data has not always been followed. Cllr Hudspeth called on Government to ensure better data practice is followed moving forwards, key decisions are communicated with councils at the earliest opportunity, and that the Government takes a more strategic approach to data sharing.
For more information get in touch with jade.hall@local.gov.uk.
Devolution
The Devolution APPG held the first oral evidence session as part of its inquiry into the role that central government has in making a success of devolution in England. The inquiry panel, chaired by Andrew Lewer MP (Conservative, Northampton South), heard from Professor Francesca Gains, Professor of Public Policy at the University of Manchester, Professor Colin Copus, Emeritus Professor of Local Politics at De Montford University, and Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive of the LGIU. The next evidence session will take place on Wednesday 11 November at 4pm. If you’d like to listen in live please do get in touch.
Air quality
Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol City Council and Matthew Holmes, Deputy Leader of Derby City Council provided evidence to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee inquiry on air quality. Both witnesses noted that the increase in working from home has led to an improvement in air quality in their cities, but that changed as schools and workers returned over the summer. They also detailed measures their cities are taking to improve air quality, including more active travel, but Mayor Rees said there had been a centralisation of power, funding and decision making in Westminster which had prevented progress being made. They also touched on other issues, such as the impact of the Environment Bill, the good practice from their councils, the adequacy of Government funding, and how to get public buy in.
For more information get in touch with jade.hall@local.gov.uk.
Leisure centres
At Department for Digital, Culture and Media Sport questions, Cat Smith MP (Labour, Lancaster and Fleetwood) highlighted that a swimming pool in her constituency, which is part run by the local council, was unable to reopen when restrictions were initially lifted earlier in the year due concerns about the level of footfall not being financially viable to reopen the pool. Responding, the Minister, Nigel Huddleston MP, said he understood the challenges facing many leisure centres across the country and aware that many are in "a precarious financial state". The Minister urged leisure providers to bid for the £100 million made available, details of which will be released shortly.
For more information get in touch with laura.johnson@local.gov.uk.
Prime Minister's Questions
At Prime Minster’s Questions (PMQs), Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer MP paid tribute to those working in care homes and said “we owe it to them to not repeat the same mistakes as made in the first wave” and asked the Prime Minister to work cross-party to find a way for families to be able to safely visit their loved ones in care homes over the next few months. Responding, the Prime Minister said that new guidance on visiting care homes will be announced in due course which he hopes will “strike the right balance between people’s need to see their loved ones and the risk of spreading the disease”. Backbench contributions ranged from localised test and trace systems, social care, free school meals, tackling domestic abuse and schools.
For more information get in touch with laura.johnson@local.gov.uk.
Looking ahead
Monday 9 November
- Cllr David Renard, Chair of the LGA's Environment, Economy, Housing and Transport Board, speaking at APPG on Housing and Care for Older People
- Home Office Questions, House of Commons
- Public Accounts Committee, Improving broadband, evidence from Sarah Healey, Permanent Secretary, Susannah Storey, Director General, Digital and Raj Kalia, Chief Executive, Building Digital UK, DCMS, House of Commons
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Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, The future of the planning system in England, evidence from Brian Berry, Chief Executive, Federation of Master Builders, Kate Henderson, Chief Executive, National Housing Federation and Philip Barnes, Group Land and Planning Director, Barratt Developments; Lisa Fairmaner, Head of London Plan and Growth Strategies, Greater London Authority and Andrew Longley, Head, North Northamptonshire Joint Planning and Delivery Unit, House of Commons
- Question on aligning skills strategy with the target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050 (Baroness Blackstone, Labour), House of Lords
- Question on support for freelancers who work in the entertainment and music industries (Baroness Kennedy of Cradley, Labour), House of Lords
- Agriculture Bill, Consideration of Commons amendments/reasons, House of Lords
- UK Internal Market Bill: Committee Stage (Part 5 of the Bill), House of Lords
Tuesday 10 November
- Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Questions, House of Commons
- Debate on obesity and the COVID-19 outbreak (Jim Shannon, UUP, Strangford), House of Commons
- Health and Social Care Committee, Coronavirus: lessons learnt, evidence from Baroness Dido Harding, Chair, coronavirus 'track and trace' programme, House of Commons
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Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Sport in our communities, evidence from Rick Parry, Chairman, English Football League, Richard Masters, Chief Executive, English Premier League and Greg Clarke, Chairman, The Football Association, House of Commons
- Fourth Delegated Legislation Committee to consider the Draft Non-Domestic Rating (Rates Retention, Levy and Safety Net and Levy Account: Basis of Distribution) (Amendment) Regulations 2020, House of Commons
- Question on UN 16 days of Activism Against gender-based violence campaign (Baroness Anelay of St Johns, Conservative), House of Lords
- Question on the publication of revised Waste Prevention Programme for England (Baroness Parminter, Liberal Democrat), House of Lords
- COVID-19 Committee, Living online: the long-term impact on wellbeing, evidence from Richard Hart, Deputy Head of Libraries, Leeds City Council
- Economic Affairs Committee, Employment and COVID-19, evidence from academics, House of Lords
Wednesday 11 November
- Cllr Kevin Bentley, Chair of LGA's People & Places Board, giving evidence to the Committee on the Future Relationship with the EU, House of Lords
- Bronwen Maddox, Director, Institute for Government; Professor Philip Booth, Senior Academic Fellow, Institute for Economic Affairs; Jim Hubbard, Head of Regional Policy, CBI; Warwick Lightfoot, Head of Economics and Social Policy, Policy Exchange and Mark Sandford, Senior Researcher, House of Commons Library giving evidence to the APPG for Devolution inquiry
- Ten Minute Rule Bill, Supported Housing (Regulation) (Kerry McCarthy MP, Labour), House of Commons
- Debate on COVID-19, House of Commons
- Debate on Remembrance, UK armed forces and society, House of Commons
- Debate on support for the economy in the north (Dan Jarvis MP, Labour), House of Commons
- Debate on conversion of family homes to houses in multiple occupation for supported accommodation (Steve McCabe MP, Labour), House of Commons
- Debate on family visit access in health and social care settings during the COVID-19 outbreak (Joy Morrissey MP, Conservative), House of Commons
- Debate on the future of the National Trust (Andrew Murrison MP, Conservative), House of Commons
- Home Affairs Committee, Channel crossings, migration and asylum-seeking routes through the EU, evidence TBC, House of Commons
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Treasury Committee, Work of HM Treasury, evidence from Sir Tom Scholar, Permanent Secretary, Charles Roxburgh, Second Permanent Secretary and Anna Caffyn, Director for Finance, HM Treasury, House of Commons
- Question on improving rural bus services (Baroness Randerson, Liberal Democrat), House of Lords
- Question on Government long-term funding plans to address domestic abuse (Baroness Bertin, Conservative), House of Lords
Thursday 12 November
- LGA Chairman, Cllr James Jamieson, giving evidence to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee inquiry on the Spending Review and local government finance, House of Commons
- Mayor Philip Glanville, Member of LGA's Environment, Economy, Housing and Transport Board, giving evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee inquiry on biodiversity and ecosystems, House of Commons
- Cabinet Office Questions, House of Commons
- Debate on achieving the ambition for a smoke-free England by 2030, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and public health organisation (Mary Kelly Foy MP, Labour), House of Commons
- Debate on the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on people affected by dementia (Jim Shannon MP, DUP, Debbie Abrahams MP, Labour), House of Commons
- Public Accounts Committee, COVID-19: Support for jobs, evidence from Sir Tom Scholar, Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury; Beth Russell, Director General Tax and Welfare, HM Treasury; Jim Harra, First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive, HM Revenue and Customs; Jo Rowland, Temporary Director General of the HMRC Covid-19 Response Unit, HM Revenue and Customs, House of Commons
- Question on the consequences of government policies in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic on their levelling up agenda in England (Lord Greaves, Liberal Democrat), House of Lords
- Question on plans by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to develop a strategy for how they plan to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and when any such strategy will be published (Lord Collins of Highbury, Labour), House of Lords
- Question on maintaining the £20 a week increase in Universal Credit for the duration of and after, the COVID-19 pandemic (Lord Woolley of Woodford, Crossbench), House of Lords
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