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This update contains brief details of recent Government publications, legislation, cases and other developments relevant to those involved in local government work, which have been published in the previous two weeks. Items are set out by subject, with a link to where the full document can be found on the internet.
If you have been forwarded this update by a colleague and would like to receive it direct please email Claire Booth.
All links are correct at the date of publication. The following topics are covered in this update:
Children's Services
DfE: Statutory Directions in relation to children’s services under Section 497A(4) and (4B) of the Education Act 1996: the Secretary of State has issued three revised Statutory Directions:
• Birmingham City Council: acknowledges the transfer of children’s social care services to the Birmingham Children’s Trust, and requires the Council to co-operate with the Secretary of State’s Children’s Services Commissioner, and to engage with the trust and partners in a way that supports improvement;
• Sandwell MBC: requires the Council to enter into and comply with the contract setting out the services agreement between the council and the Sandwell Children’s Trust by 1 April 2018;
• Torbay Council: requires the Council to enter into a contractual arrangement with Plymouth City Council to deliver its children’s services by 1 April 2018.
(23 March 2018)
DfE: Early education and childcare: updated statutory guidance for local authorities on the provision of early education and childcare, relating to their duties under s.2 of the Childcare Act 2016 and ss.6, 7, 7A, 9A, 12 and 13 of the Childcare Act 2006. The guidance covers: the free entitlements for two-, three- and four-year-olds, both the universal entitlement and the extended entitlement; securing sufficient childcare for working parents; providing information advice and assistance to parents; and providing information, advice and training to childcare providers. (21 March 2018)
MHCLG: Supporting disadvantaged families – Annual report of the Troubled Families Programme 2017 to 2018: provides an update on the progress made by the Troubled Families Programme in helping families tackle complex problems and enabling local authorities to provide more effective services. It finds that the programme is driving real long-term change across local services, meaning that services and professionals are better connected. The better support for families is reducing the number of cases that need to be escalated to children’s social care. (27 March 2018)
DfE: Knowledge and skills statements for child and family social work: these KSS are the foundation for the introduction of a post-qualification specialist career pathway for child and family social workers. They will form the basis of the national assessment and accreditation system (NAAS) for child and family social workers. The statements have been determined as the post-qualifying improvement standards as set out under s.42 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, which means a professional standard, the attainment of which demonstrates particular expertise or specialisation. The consultation response suggests that the next steps for local authorities and other employers will be to consider how the KSS can become part of their systems across: recruitment; objective setting; supervision; performance management and appraisal; and continuous professional development both at individual and organisation level. (20 March 2018)
DfE: Extending Personal Adviser support to 25 – New burdens assessment: the Children and Social Work Act 2017 introduced a new duty on local authorities to provide Personal Adviser (PA) support to all care leavers up to age 25, if they want this support. This assessment informs local authorities of how DfE has calculated the total funding for this new duty. There is also a Section 31 grant determination letter that shows the amount of new burdens funding allocated to each local authority for 2018 to 2019. (21 March 2018)
DfE: Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme grant: grant determination under s.31 LGA 2003 setting out how much funding is being awarded to 14 local authorities to support their children's social care projects relating to the Partners in Practice programme and the Innovation Programme, specifically Social Impact Bonds. (22 March 2018)
DfE: Section 31 grant determination letter – Greater Manchester Combined Authority: announces the award of a grant to provide targeted children's social care innovation and reform funding for the CA's 10 constituent local authorities. (27 March 2018)
DfE: Funding boost to improve speed and quality of adoption services: announces that five new Regional Adoption Agencies have been granted £3.4m to help them to speed up the matching process between children awaiting adoption and adoptive families, as well as improving adopter recruitment and reducing costs. (22 March 2018)
DfE: Funding boost to give more children healthy start to the day: announces the appointment of two charities, Family Action and Magic Breakfast, to run school breakfast clubs, backed by up to £26m funding through the soft drinks industry levy. As part of the funding, the charities will also look at how they can encourage more children to attend these programmes and improve collaboration and sharing of best practice across schools. (19 March 2018)
DfE: Boost to support disadvantaged families during the holidays: invites organisations to apply for a share of £2m new funding to research ways of supporting disadvantaged families during the school holidays. The Holiday Activities and Food Research Fund will help to ensure that every child, whatever their background or wherever they are growing up, has the opportunity to reach their potential. The closing date for this bidding round is 18 April 2018. There will be a separate bidding process for participation in the 2019 Easter and Summer pilots. (28 March 2018)
Children (Secure Accommodation) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/391 (W.68)): these regulations, which come into force in Wales on 2 April 2018, amend SI 2015/1988 (W.298) so that the placement of a child by a Welsh local authority in secure accommodation in Scotland is subject to the same safeguards which apply to placements in England and Wales. They also clarify who is able to apply for a secure accommodation order in cases which do not involve looked after children as provided for by reg.16, and that the maximum periods set in regs.6 & 7 apply to an order of the court made in relation to secure accommodation in Wales. (19 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Kirtpal Kaur Aujla.
Communities
MHCLG: Government commits to further support for neighbourhood planning: announces a £23m fund, delivered by Locality and Groundwork, to help local groups to develop a neighbourhood plan. The maximum grant available is £17,000. Applications to bid for funding will open on 3 April 2018. (19 March 2018)
DCMS: Dormant accounts youth fund - Statement of Intent: in January 2018, the Government announced that £90m from dormant bank and building society accounts will fund projects to support young people furthest from the labour market into employment. This document sets out the aims of the programme, the best approaches and the core principles underlining it. The engagement phase will include targeted workshops with young people and events bringing together local leaders of business, youth organisations, health and education together with young people. The Government will then issue policy directions to the Big Lottery Fund, setting out what should be taken into account in determining who receives the money and the purposes for which the money can be distributed, in line with the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008. (19 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact David Hutton.
Delivery of Services
HC Public Accounts Committee: Government contracts for Community Rehabilitation Companies: this report examines the MoJ's Transforming Rehabilitation programme that created a public sector National Probation Service and 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC). In 2017, the MoJ was forced to adjust its contracts with CRCs because it pushed through its reforms too quickly and failed to anticipate foreseeable consequences. The volumes of work paid for under the contracts has dramatically reduced, meaning that CRCs have not invested in probation services. The Committee concludes that up to £342m more has been committed to CRCs without clear benefits. The quality of rehabilitation services has suffered as a result and is undermining the objectives of the reforms. Despite the MoJ bailout, 14 out of 21 CRCs are still forecasting losses. This raises concerns about the potential for contracts, or providers, to fail. (21 March 2018)
NLGN: Leadership Index Part II – Confidence in the economy, society and environment: the Leadership Index provides insights into the level of confidence on key issues affecting local government, based on the perception of council Leaders, Mayors and Chief Executives. This latest survey reveals that council Chief Executives and Leaders hold low confidence that they have adequate resources and powers to deliver statutory services. (27 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact David Hutton.
Education
DfE: Free School Meals – Guidance for schools and local authorities: non-statutory guidance on free school meal eligibility and the introduction of transitional protection arrangements under Universal Credit for those already receiving free school meals. (22 March 2018)
DfE: Schemes for financing schools: updated statutory guidance for local authorities on their duty under s.48 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to publish schemes for financing schools, setting out the financial relationship between them and the schools they maintain. The guidance has been revised to take into account changes to legislation about balances of closing schools, redundancy and early retirement costs and a directed revision to loan schemes. (22 March 2018)
DfE: Changes to the criteria for agreeing loan schemes: sets out the Government's response to the November 2017 consultation on the implementation of changes to the criteria for agreeing local authority loan schemes for local authority maintained schools. It states that from 22 March 2018, it expects new loans to be made in line with the provision in schemes. All local authorities must update their schemes and ensure any new loans are in line with the criteria. The DfE is also making a related change to the guidance on the treatment of surpluses and deficits when a maintained school becomes an academy. (22 March 2018)
DfE: School workforce planning – Guidance for schools: updated statutory guidance for school leaders to help them review their staff structures regularly, as part of annual school improvement, curriculum and financial planning. (28 March 2018)
DfE: Further education residential accommodation – national minimum standards: revised national minimum standards on arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of under 18s for whom accommodation is provided by colleges. These standards will apply from 1 September 2018 to institutions within the FE sector and 16-19 academies, which are subject to the duty under s.87(1) of the Children Act 1989 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children accommodated by them. The standards also now apply as a condition of their funding from August 2017 to those independent specialist colleges which receive funding from the Secretary of State. (28 March 2018)
DfE: Review of Post-18 Education and Funding – call for evidence: the Government has launched a major review of HE and FE education. The overall review will be conducted by an independent panel led by Philip Augar and comprising experts from across post-18 education and the business world. The panel is now inviting interested individuals and organisations to submit evidence to inform its work. The closing date for submissions is 2 May 2018. The panel will publish their report at an interim stage, before the Government concludes the overall review in early 2019. (21 March 2018)
Early Years Foundation Stage (Exemption from Learning and Development Requirements) and Local Authority (Duty to Secure Early Years Provision Free of Charge) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/383): these regulations, which come into force on 12 April 2018, enable the Secretary of State to exempt, for two academic years, a small sample of primary schools from delivering the current learning and development requirements and the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) assessment arrangements. These current requirements are set out in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Instead, the primary schools will agree to participate in a pilot to test modified requirements. They also correct a typo in SI 2014/2147 relating to the calculation for assessing eligibility for free early years provision for two years olds. (21 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Rosie Tabrizi.
Emergency Planning
Kerslake Arena Review: The Kerslake Report – An independent review into the preparedness for, and emergency response to, the Manchester Arena attack on 22nd May 2017: the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, commissioned a non-statutory independent review of the events and aftermath of the Manchester Arena terrorist attack as part of his role as Police and Crime Commissioner. The Review, chaired by Lord Bob Kerslake, has published its independent report into the emergency response to the attack that left 22 dead, hundreds injured and many thousands affected. The review has identified what a range of responding agencies did well on the night and during the following week that helped people as well as what could have been done better. Areas that went well include: investment in emergency planning meant people were generally able to act with a high degree of confidence; good judgement was exercised by was exercised key emergency personnel at critical points during the evening; and the civic response was exceptional. It highlights major issues for learning, including failures resulting from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service's poor communication, poor procedures and issues of operational culture which meant it did not arrive at the scene and therefore played no meaningful role in the response for two hours. The Panel identifies some issues of communication between the Police and other agencies, and notes that the strength of the response for support and care for the families directly affected was not always carried through beyond the early period. It makes a number of recommendations the Greater Manchester emergency services, Government, other local and national bodies and the media. (27 March 2018)
MHCLG: Second report from the Independent Grenfell Recovery Taskforce: this report looks into how the Kensington and Chelsea RLBC is handling the recovery following the Grenfell Tower fire. It highlights the commitment and resource that the Council has dedicated to recovery and the progress that it has made. However, it finds that converting plans into action and delivery on the ground remains patchy, and the gulf in trust between the community and the Council also remains a major impediment to progress. (16 March 2018)
Reform: Frontline online – Smarter blue light services: this paper looks at how smart technology, such as electronic health records, videos from drones and augmented reality glasses, can be used to get information to the frontline and provide ambulance, police and fire crews with knowledge at their fingertips. (19 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Frances Woodhead.
European Union
National Assembly for Wales: Law Derived from the European Union (Wales) Bill: this Government Emergency Bill was introduced into the National Assembly by the Welsh Government because of serious concerns about the UK Government’s EU Withdrawal Bill, which allows the UK Government to take control of devolved policy areas, such as farming and fishing after Brexit. The Bill is intended to preserve EU law covering subjects devolved to Wales on withdrawal of the UK from the EU. It also enables the Welsh Ministers to ensure that legislation covering these subjects works effectively after the UK leaves the EU and the European Communities Act 1972 is repealed by the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. The Bill enables the Welsh Ministers to legislate to maintain regulatory alignment with the EU in order to facilitate continued access to the EU market for Welsh Businesses. It also creates a default position in law whereby the consent of the Welsh Ministers will be required before any changes are made by UK Ministers to devolved legislation within the scope of EU law. The bill has now completed all four stages of the legislative process and is now in the four week period of intimation prior to Royal Assent (21 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Judith Barnes.
Finance
Draft Transport Levying Bodies (Amendment) Regulations 2018: these regulations, which come into force on 1 October 2018, further amend SI 1992/2789 to enable the issuing of a levy by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority in order to meet the costs of carrying out its transport functions. Combined authorities are levying bodies for the purposes of s.74 LGFA 1988 and the Secretary of State may make regulations in relation to the expenses of the authority that are reasonably attributable to the exercise of its transport functions. As the Combined Authority was not previously a levying body and the levy was not specified in its Establishment Order, the new authority needs to be added to the list of Transport Levying Bodies for the purposes of the 1992 Regulations. (19 March 2018)
MHCLG: Local government overpayment – Ministerial direction: the Secretary of State has issued a Written Statement announcing a ministerial direction on local government overpayment. He has directed that the department should not seek to claw back an overpayment made in 2017-18 to 100% business rates retention pilots, which had resulted from "an historic [sic] error in the methodology used to calculate the sums due to pilots". The correspondence between the Permanent Secretary and the Secretary of State has been published on their website. (20 March 2018)
LGA: A councillor's workbook on local government finance: plain English guide that explains the basic concepts, considers the way local councils receive their funding and highlights both the legal and best practice requirements in managing the council’s financial affairs. It includes practical exercises. (22 March 2018)
Charity Commission: Alert for charities – watch out for CEO fraud: this alert provides information and advice to help prevent CEO fraud, which involves the impersonation of a senior figure (usually the Chief Executive Officer) with subsequent requests for transfers of funds. The alert is addressed to charity trustees, employees and volunteers but would be useful for all organisations. (26 March 2018)
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill: this Government Bill has been introduced into the Commons and has received its 1st Reading. The Bill will reverse the impact of the so-called 'staircase tax' by retrospectively reinstating particular features of business rates valuation practice which applied before the judgment of the Supreme Court in Woolway (VO) v Mazars [2015] UKSC 53. Businesses that operate in adjoining units or rooms, but are accessed from a common corridor or staircase, will be able to choose to have their rates recalculated under the old single bill system instead of receiving separate rate bills for each unit. The Bill will also give local authorities in England the discretion to charge a council tax premium of up to 100% on homes that stand empty for two years or more.
There are also policy factsheets on hereditaments occupied or owned by the same person and higher amount for long-term empty dwellings, that provide further background information on the measures within the Bill. (28 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Judith Barnes.
Governance
MHCLG: Northamptonshire County Council – Statement: the Communities Secretary has announced that he is minded to send Commissioners in to Northamptonshire CC to take direct control over the authority’s financial management and reporting processes, in light of the independent inspector's report. He has written to the Chief Executive with details of the proposed intervention package, including functions that Commissioners will take over from Northamptonshire CC and actions which the Council must take. It also provides details of how the Northamptonshire county, district and borough councils can make representations. The councils have until 12 April 2018 to submit their representations. (27 March 2018)
Home Office: Three more PCCs to take on responsibility of local fire and rescue services: announces that the Police & Crime Commissioners for West Mercia, Staffordshire and Cambridgeshire are to take on fire and rescue governance, under new provisions introduced by the Policing and Crime Act 2017. Each proposal identified a number of collaborative opportunities through the new governance structure, e.g. shared estate and back office functions and closer alignment on prevention and resource deployment. As the relevant local authorities in each PCC’s area did not support the transfer of governance, the Home Secretary commissioned CIPFA to assess each proposal as to whether the statutory tests set out in the Act had been met. Having considered these independent assessments and other information, the Home Secretary states that she is satisfied that the proposals demonstrated that a transfer of governance would be in the interests of the local economy, efficiency and effectiveness, without having an adverse effect upon public safety. (26 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Judith Barnes.
Government Policy
LGA Labour Group: On Day One – Labour in local government’s priorities for the next Labour Government: this collection of essays looks at how a Labour administration led by Jeremy Corbyn could work with local government to deliver for the many, not the few. The foreword highlights that the future of the country cannot be formulated by politicians in Westminster, but needs to be built in partnership with local leaders and local people, and devolving power to a local level gives Labour an opportunity to show people that they are trusted to make decisions and take control of their own lives. If local government is properly funded then it can help the next Labour government deliver the improved vital public services that communities desperately need. (21 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Judith Barnes.
Health and Social Care
DHSC: We need to do better on social care: the Health Secretary has outlined the seven key principles that will guide the Government's thinking ahead of the Social Care Green Paper, which will be published in summer 2018. Central to all of these principles is innovation. He states that the current charging system for social care is far from fair and a new system needs to include an element of risk-pooling. The Green Paper will look at how to do this, as well as the potential costs. (20 March 2018)
Ofsted: Social care commentary - What do local authorities need to do to improve from inadequate: Ofsted's National Director of Social Care, Eleanor Schooling, has written the latest commentary in her series of articles about major issues in children's. This article shares some of the common themes that have emerged as local authorities improve from inadequate. (21 March 2018)
DHSC: Chief Social Worker for Adults' annual report 2017 to 2018: this fourth annual report from the Chief Social Worker for Adults in England is themed around strengths-based social work practice. The report sets out: recent progress in putting social workers and social work practice at the heart of delivering safe and best outcomes for people with health and care needs, and priorities over the coming year to further raise the quality and profile of adult social work across an integrated system. (20 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact David Owens.
Highways
DfT: Pothole fund boosted to repair roads after winter damage: announces a further £100m from the Pothole Action Fund for local authorities to help repair any potholes and other storm damage. This press release gives details of the amount awarded to each authority. (26 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Jonathan Turner.
Housing
MHCLG: Government investment to unlock more homes across England: the Government has announced almost £300m funding in total for housing projects in Greater Manchester, the West of England and Oxfordshire. The Oxfordshire deal, which is worth £215m, will deliver 100,000 homes (including over 1,300 affordable homes, in the Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford corridor by 2031, along with supporting infrastructure. The Greater Manchester housing package focuses on developing brownfield land for housing and getting more homes built on small sites, while the interim West of England package supports the Mayor’s ambitious plans to increase the number of new homes being delivered over the next three years and tackle affordability challenges.
MHCLG has also published a list of successful Housing Infrastructure Fund Forward Fund projects to go through to co-development. (21 March 2018)
MHCLG: Government action on councils failing to plan new homes: the Secretary of State has written to 15 local authorities in England to inform them of decisions on intervention following their continued failure to produce a local plan. In November 2017, the Government gave the councils until 31 January 2018 to explain why they hadn’t yet published a plan, providing any exceptional circumstances for why the government shouldn’t intervene. Since then four authorities have published their plans. The new letters set out the next steps for the remaining 11 authorities. (23 March 2018)
Acis Group: More than bricks – Are social housing providers best placed to offer support to tenants?: this report from social housing provider Acis argues that many social housing tenants are struggling to find the help they need and social housing providers are best placed to provide such support. A a survey of 250 social housing tenants and 21 social housing professionals found that social housing providers are already offering a wide range of support services; however, the majority of providers (60%) said there was demand for greater levels of support currently not catered for, particularly around specific vocational training, digital support and mental health. The report makes a series of recommendations to social housing providers and government, including that social housing providers should consider more consortia or joint venture arrangements to encourage effective collaboration to develop support programme. (20 March 2018)
MHCLG: £215 million boost for council homelessness services: announces the authorities that have been awarded a share of a share of over £215m in the third round of the Government’s Flexible Homelessness Support Grant programme. The funding will support their work to prevent and reduce homelessness. (22 March 2018)
Davis v Watford BC [2018] EWCA Civ 529 (CA): this case concerned the statutory interpretation of s.204A of the Housing Act 1996 and in particular, whether it was the High Court or the County Court which had jurisdiction to determine a challenge to a local authority's refusal to provide interim accommodation pursuant to s. 204(4) of the 1996 Act.
D requested a review of the Council's decision, made under s.184 of the 1996 Act, that he was not in priority need for homelessness assistance. Some 8 months later, the Council wrote to D indicating that it was "minded" to uphold its original decision, but it did not notify D of its actual decision on the review. D lodged an appeal in the County Court, under s.204 of the 1996 Act, seeking to challenge as unlawful the original s.184 decision. The Council then refused his request for interim accommodation. D then issued judicial review proceedings in the Administrative Court. The judge refused D permission to apply for judicial review, ruling that such a challenge should have been made in the County Court. D appealed to the Court of Appeal, which granted permission to apply for judicial review and directed that the claim be retained in the CA for substantive decision.
The court held, granting the application, that where an adverse decision on interim accommodation had been made by an authority when there had been no decision on the review within the prescribed time, the appropriate procedure for challenge was by way of judicial review proceedings commenced in the High Court. The wording of s.204A(1) (right to appeal to the county court) was plain and admitted only one interpretation – the section extended only to cases where there had actually been a decision on the review. So the section could not relate to the position where, as here, there had been no decision on the review. Section 204(1) made clear that the substantive appeal on a point of law was to the original decision, i.e. the s.184 decision here. A challenge to an adverse s.188(3) decision on interim accommodation was to be brought in judicial review proceedings in the High Court, and that power subsisted until a decision on the review. Case law and legal commentaries supported this view, (21 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Matthew Waters.
Libraries
DDCMS: Letter from Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, confirming a formal complaint under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964: letter to the Leader of Northamptonshire CC informing him that the Secretary of State has received representations from CILIP that the Council is failing to deliver its statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service. The Culture Secretary is treating this as a formal complaint under s.10(1)(a) of the 1964 Act. He will now gather information before considering the complaint. (19 March 2018)
DDCMS: Community managed libraries – Good practice toolkit: updated good practice guide, produced by the Libraries Taskforce with contributions from community managed libraries, for people who are running, or considering establishing, community libraries. The Taskforce believes that the involvement of volunteers in supporting paid staff in running public libraries can be valuable in augmenting services available and ensuring close collaboration and engagement between public libraries and the community; it does not endorse community managed libraries with no support from the local council. (20 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Judith Barnes.
Maladministration
LGSCO: Ombudsman ‘disappointed’ with Rossendale council’s response to report: in June 2017, the LGSCO issued a report about the way in which the Council had dealt with a woman’s hackney carriage licence. That report found that the council took too long to process the woman’s application, and it made recommendations to remedy the injustice caused due to fault by the Council. The Council was given three months to respond to the report and provide evidence of compliance. It has refused to do so and the Ombudsman has issued a further report to highlight the ongoing concerns about the Council’s failure to acknowledge and remedy its faults. The new report states that the Council should make the necessary arrangements to ensure full compliance with the recommendations set out in the original report and provide evidence of this without delay. The Council should lay the original report and this further report before the Authority. If it is minded not to comply with the recommendations, then this report is required to be considered by full Council in accordance with s.31A(1A) of the Local Government Act 1974. (21 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Virginia Cooper.
Regulatory Services
MHCLG: Mandatory client money protection schemes for property agents: sets out the Government response to the November 2017 consultation, with details of the proposed new mandatory client money protection (CMP) scheme for property agents in the private rented sector, with civil penalties of up to £30,000 for agents who fail to comply with the scheme. Local authorities will be responsible for enforcement of the requirement to be a member of a CMP scheme and will be able to retain monies collected from civil penalties to fund future enforcement. The Government also proposes to establish a lead enforcement authority to provide oversight, guidance and support with the enforcement of relevant letting agent legislation, including mandatory membership of a CMP scheme.
The Government has also announced that it will be bringing in legislation requiring letting and managing agents to have a nationally recognised qualification to practice and to undertake continuing professional development. There will be a new independent regulator responsible for working practices of agents who will have strong powers of enforcement; close cooperation between the regulator and local authorities will be central to effective enforcement. (1 April 2018)
Draft Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018: these regulations, which are scheduled to come into force on 1 October 2018, amend Sch.4 to the Housing Act 2004 so as to require new mandatory conditions which local housing authorities (LHAs) must include when granting new or renewal HMO licences from commencement. The first specifies minimum sizes of rooms which may be occupied as sleeping accommodation and also requires the LHA to specify the maximum number of persons (if any) who may occupy a specified room for the purpose of sleeping accommodation in the licensed HMO. The second new condition requires licence holders to comply with any local authority scheme made in respect of refuse storage and disposal at the HMO. (22 March 2018)
Draft Licensing Act 2003 (Royal Wedding Licensing Hours) Order 2018: this Order will extend the hours during which licensed premises can be used for the sale of alcohol and provision of late night refreshment during the period of 18 - 20 May 2018, to mark the royal wedding of HRH Prince Henry of Wales and Miss Rachel Meghan Markle. (19 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Adam Kendall.
Standards
Cabinet Office: Government response to the Committee on Standards in Public Life Review of Intimidation in Public Life: in December 2017, the independent Committee made a package of recommendations to address the threats and intimidation experienced by Parliamentary candidates and others. The recommendations included that the Government should legislate to remove the requirement for candidates standing as local councillors to have their home addresses published on the ballot paper, and that Monitoring Officers should ensure that members required to declare pecuniary interests are aware of the sensitive interests provisions in the Localism Act 2011. The Government accepts both these recommendations. It will bring forward secondary legislation in time for the 2019 local authority elections, that will remove the requirement for candidates standing as local councillors to have their home addresses published on the ballot paper; instead, there will be an option to include a statement of residence based on an electoral area the candidate lives in, rather than having to include a specific address. The Government will also review the 2013 Openness and transparency on personal interests guidance and consider whether it can be made more explicit. It will then write to Local Authority Chief Executives, and work with the LGA and sector bodies, to publicise and raise awareness of the sensitive interest provisions, to ensure that Monitoring Officers are aware of this guidance and where to access it. (8 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Frances Woodhead.
Structural Reorganisation
Draft East Suffolk (Local Government Changes) Order 2018 and draft East Suffolk (Modification of Boundary Change Enactments) Regulations 2018: these instruments provide for the abolition of Suffolk Coastal and Waveney districts and their district councils and the creation of a new East Suffolk district and East Suffolk DC which covers the same contiguous, geographic area. These draft Regulations, with the equivalent West Suffolk regulations (below), are the first use of s.15 of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016. They provide that Part 1 of the Local Government and Public Improvement in Health Act 2007 is to be varied in its application to Suffolk Coastal and Waveney DCs so that those councils can make proposals for boundary change in their area to the Secretary of State rather than to the Local Government Boundary Commission and allow the Secretary of State to implement those proposals by order under s.10 of the 2007 Act. The draft Order is made under ss.10, 11, 12 and 13 of the 2007 Act. It implements the proposal made under the 2007 Act that there should be a new non-metropolitan district council for East Suffolk. It provides for the establishment of a shadow authority before East Suffolk DC takes on full responsibility for local government matters on 1 April 2019 with members appointed from the existing councils, and for the creation of a shadow executive and a Central Implementation Team to support the executive. (19 March 2018)
Draft West Suffolk (Local Government Changes) Order 2018 and draft West Suffolk (Modification of Boundary Change Enactments) Regulations 2018: these instruments provide for the abolition of Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury districts and their district councils and the creation of a new West Suffolk district and West Suffolk DC which covers the same contiguous, geographic area. These draft Regulations, with the equivalent East Suffolk regulations (above), are the first use of s.15 of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016. They provide that Part 1 of the Local Government and Public Improvement in Health Act 2007 is to be varied in its application to Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury DCs so that those councils can make proposals for boundary change in their area to the Secretary of State rather than to the Local Government Boundary Commission and allow the Secretary of State to implement those proposals by order under s.10 of the 2007 Act. The draft Order is made under ss.10, 11, 12 and 13 of the 2007 Act. It implements the proposal made under the 2007 Act that there should be a new non-metropolitan district council for West Suffolk. It provides for the establishment of a shadow authority before West Suffolk DC takes on full responsibility for local government matters on 1 April 2019 with members appointed from the existing councils, and for the creation of a shadow executive and a Central Implementation Team to support the executive. (19 March 2018)
MHCLG: Northamptonshire councils – Invitation to restructure: the Communities Secretary has exercised his powers under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 to invite all the Northamptonshire councils to submit proposals for unitary structures to replace the existing two-tier system. The proposals can be for two or more unitary authorities for the area of one or more districts, or for an area which is part of a county and one or more adjoining districts in an adjacent county. The Secretary of State makes clear that he will not accept a proposal for a single unitary authority covering the entirety of Northamptonshire. The deadline for such proposals is 27 July 2018. (27 March 2018)
Welsh Government: Strengthening local government - Delivering for people: seeks views on proposals to explore the possibility of creating larger, stronger councils in Wales. The Green Paper sets out options which could lead to larger and more sustainable local authorities in Wales, which can deliver effective and sustainable public services. It is consulting on: a potential policy to create larger, stronger local authorities and options for implementation; how to ensure that elected members have the support and reward they need to undertake their roles effectively; and what additional powers and flexibilities local government needs. The consultation closes on 12 June 2018. (20 March 2018)
If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Judith Barnes.
