Greetings!
I hope many of you are enjoying a well-earned rest, whether it is a few days abroad or a staycation, it is important to recharge our batteries!
UK violent disorder
The violent disorder and criminal damage in many parts of the UK are clearly destructive in every way, damaging lives, property, and our future wellbeing. At the first of our emergency meetings on Friday 9 August, I presented for the Independent Group Leaders, thanks to those who have been in touch.
From across the country, leaders shared experience, good practice and identified support needed. Areas who already have good connections with all sections of their community and well-functioning safety forums found that groundwork vital in providing the most effective response in difficult times. If your area is threatened, please let us know and contact the LGA regional team of officers and regional lead peers ready to give advice and support. The LGA are currently engaging with Government, asking what financial support will be made available to communities and organisations affected by the violent disorder.
Meeting with Bristol City Council
It was a pleasure meeting again with the Green Leader of Bristol City Council, Councillor Tony Dyer, who leads a minority administration on the council, only two short of an overall majority and supported by the excellent Emma Edwards who is leading the group. Just before the 2024 local elections, Bristol had an Independent directly elected Mayor, then won by a Labour Mayor. Our councillors campaigned successfully for a referendum in 2022, and won, abolishing the post in favour of a committee system for the Council. In those local elections, the Greens gained 10 seats to hold 34 out of the 70 seats in the City Council.
Our councillors are clearly close to the pulse of the city, including working closely with the Gold Command to tackle the recent huge demonstrations, initiated by the far right. At the Friday afternoon Leader briefing on the violent disorder across the country, I was able to add that Tony and his team have worked brilliantly across partner organisations including the Police, Crime and Safety Panel as well as the voluntary sector, to coordinate an effective response to these disturbances and keep the community safe. Nevertheless, the city is in safe hands under Tony’s sure and steady leadership and I look forward to welcoming him and his team at our upcoming LGA Annual Conference.
Adult and children’s care
For many of our councils with adult and children’s care, secure long term funding remains an issue, as outlined in our LGA White Paper; You may want to use this material as a foundation for your own letters to Government and media.
Prisoner's early release scheme
The Ministry of Justice has circulated a letter about the prisoner’s early release scheme announced on 12 July by the Lord Chancellor. This reduces the amount of time certain prisoners serving a Standard Determinate Sentence must spend in custody from 50 to 40 per cent. As the scheme will be applied retrospectively eligible prisoners will be released in two tranches: 10 September and 22 October. The letter provides details of the scheme and includes data by local authority of expected numbers of prisoners to be released on 10 September. We are particularly keen to hear from upper tier authorities on the issues raised here, how they are coping and their readiness for the release of this first tranche in September.
Homelessness
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has just released the latest figures on statutory homelessness, local authority performance, homelessness and support needs. As we all know social housing and homelessness continue to be a major issue for our residents and communities, whilst temporary accommodation is skyrocketing.
The early release of prisoners could further exacerbate the problem with previous attempts back in October resulting in more than 9,200 ex-prisoners leaving jail only to become homeless. The new Labour Government has already announced the Bibby Stockholm barge contract will end in January 2025 and that use of large military sites e.g. RAF Wethersfield and RAF Scampton to house asylum seekers will also end.
The LGA is urging the Government to bring forward as quickly as possible the ban on ‘no-fault’ evictions, but this may reduce the amount of low-cost housing available, which is why the sitting tenant legislation turned to six-month short hold lets in the first place. Local housing deals aim to deliver almost 200,000 new social homes over the next 30 years, out of profits from the 1.5m new dwellings per year. That’s half as much again as the target we did not achieve under the previous government. We seem to have been here before.
Summary of NPPF Consultation key points and housing targets spreadsheet
Planning is a major concern for our group, seen as something of a barrier and now under review again, as it was under the last Government. Our Head of the Independent Group Office, Abigail Gallop, has produced a very useful summary for the Group of the Government’s consultation on the proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system. This will be published on our Independent Group publications page this week.
Autumn Budget 2024
The Government have announced this will take place on Wednesday 30 October and the LGA is already busy preparing. As we face a critical funding gap of more than £6 billion over the next two years, it is critical we make our case because it is local services that will matter the most. The review will set departmental budgets for at least three years. Please let us have your views by emailing LGA Finance.
Carla Denyer to speak at our LGA Annual conference
On the subject of the LGA Annual Conference, I am pleased to announce newly-elected Bristol Central Green MP, Carla Denyer, has agreed to be our guest speaker for our Group Dinner at the LGA Annual Conference. Carla will be our guest speaker for our political plenary session, reflecting on her journey from local government to becoming an MP and sharing her thoughts on re-setting the central-local government partnership - a journey worth hearing!
10-11 January 2025 Cookham, near Maidenhead
Please join us for the annual LGA Independent Group Conference and awards dinner 2024/25, a fantastic opportunity to come together to network, reflect, discuss, debate, learn, share and plan ahead for the next elections. If you are an Independent, Green or smaller party councillor in England or Wales at a district, county, unitary authority, or a combined authority, this is a key date for your diary.
We have an early bird all inclusive conference rate for our members, supported by the Independent Group Office. This rate brings together onsite accommodation with breakfast and lunch, the awards dinner and the conference, but places are limited at this reduced rate. Once all the onsite accommodation has been booked the Group Office will recommend other local hotels.
The event will start with a dinner the evening of Friday 10 January, with onsite room check in from 3pm. If you would like to work onsite during Friday 10 January there is free Wi-Fi and both quiet and communal space to work. The conference will finish by 5pm on Saturday 11 January.
If you need accommodation on either Thursday 9 January or Saturday 11 January please email the Group Office. If you would like to combine the conference with a visit to the local area, local attractions include Windsor Castle, the river and locks, Legoland, Great Windsor Park, etc.
The Independent Group annual conference is later in the calendar due to the general election and rescheduling of the LGA Annual Conference. If you are experiencing any issues with accessing our booking site, you can still visit the site via our LGA events page.
And finally…
Next Generation 2024/25 cohort
Please don’t forget there are still some spaces left for the 24/25 cohort of our Next Generation Programme. This programme is aimed at established councillors who have served at least one term, whether in administration of opposition, are looking to climb the ladder in their local government elected role. Apply now!
Have a great week ahead!
Warmest regards,
Local audit backlog
The Minister for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon MP, has issued a written statement on the immediate actions the Government intends to take to address the local audit backlog. This includes introducing secondary legislation to set a new series of backstop dates, with the first on 13 December 2024 for unaudited accounts up to an including 2022/23. We welcomed the announcement as we have been calling for a pragmatic solution to the backlog, and because the announcement addresses some of our concerns such as avoiding reputational damage for councils. We are also pleased the Government has acted on our calls for backstop dates to avoid pre-election periods.
Sustainability Masterclasses
Are you a councillor or senior council officer who has responsibility for delivering your council's ambitions for delivering net zero, climate adaptation or biodiversity targets? Sign up for one of our Sustainability masterclasses to learn how you can take meaningful action and become carbon literacy accredited, with plenty of opportunities for collaboration, discussion, and support.
2025 dates:
Please do sign up for the sessions and find frequently asked questions (FAQs) on our website.
Green Infrastructure Framework
Natural England is hosting a webinar to update progress made since the launch of the Green Infrastructure Framework The webinar on 4 September from 10-11 will include case studies, integrating policies such as Biodiversity Net Gain, and the new version of the GI Mapping Database. You can register here.
Housing Ombudsman Service – call for evidence
The Housing Ombudsman is exploring common issues in housing maintenance, following a significant rise in complaints about disrepair. This ‘Call to Evidence’ will help them understand how increasing repairs costs, complaints and skill shortages are impacting residents' safety in their homes. The ‘Call for Evidence’ is open for 12 weeks, closing on Friday 25 October 2024. It will be supported by casework reviews and fieldwork across England and the Ombudsman is seeking insights from residents, repair operatives, landlords, contractors, MPs, and councillors.
Healthy Start scheme consultation
The Government launched a consultation to seek views on whether eligibility for Healthy Start should be extended to include others who are prevented from accessing public funds due to immigration controls. Please do respond. The consultation closes at 11:59pm on Wednesday 23 October 2024.
Share your Work
We are in the process of updating the Cost of Living Hub to capture recent work that councils have delivered, and to enable shared learning to continue.
If you would like to share an example or case study of your work around preventing poverty and supporting low-income households, please email Selena McGuinness.
We would also welcome proposals from anyone who would like to present at one of our Cost-of-Living webinars or explore other opportunities to work with us to develop good practice and inform the new government.
Dates for the Diary
Thursday 5 September 2024 | Manchester
This Local Government Association event is open to new members from across the North-West who have been elected (for the first time) in May 2024. The event will support newly elected members in exploring their roles. It will provide an opportunity to hear from cross-party guest speakers about their experiences and insights, as well as support this cohort of newly elected members from across the region to develop their networks.
Thursday 19 September 2024, 2.00pm - 3.30pm
This virtual event which is funded by Government will provide an overview of local government finance without any numbers - focusing instead on roles and responsibilities, key terminologies and processes. It will give you an understanding of both what you need to be aware of in your role and what you need to understand about your authority’s role and is aimed at newly elected members or those just looking for a refresh.
Thursday 26 September 2024, 10.00am - 11.30am
Focussing on key roles and responsibilities of the audit committee, this webinar will refresh and provide clarity on the key tasks of the audit committee and in particular the Chair role within this.
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