Local Authority round-up 12/03/21

Brexit

Government relaxes EU plant health rules

Following the UK’s departure from the EU, Northern Ireland has remained a part of the EU’s single market for goods and must continue to follow the EU’s plant health rules whilst Great Britain does not. As a result, soil from other parts of the UK cannot legally enter Northern Ireland under the EU’s plant health rules which has caused disruption. The government has now relaxed those rules to allow bulbs or vegetables that have been grown in soil to be sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland with soil attached, plants grown in soil can now also be moved provided they are from an authorised business meeting Great Britain’s plant pass porting requirements for soil and agricultural machinery can be sent without the need for a plant health certificate, providing they have been washed to remove excessive soil and plant debris. The government, who have relaxed the rules without the agreement of the EU said “These temporary, practical arrangements recognise the need to ensure biosecurity on the island of Ireland is not compromised whilst addressing barriers which stop goods moving into Northern Ireland.”

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UK signs Economic Partnership Agreement with Cameroon

The UK has signed a trade agreement with Cameroon in order to ensure they can continue to trade as freely as they do now without any additional barriers or tariffs following the UK’s departure from the EU. The agreement was signed by International Trade Minister Ranil Jayawardena and High Commissioner of Cameroon to the UK, H.E. Albert Fotabong Njoteh in London earlier this week. Minister for Africa James Duddridge said “This agreement will make sure around £200m of trade between the UK and Cameroon can continue, supporting Cameroonian businesses to increase operations, enabling UK exporters to sell more goods and boosting prosperity for both countries as we together recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. This provides the continuity businesses in both the UK and Cameroon need to ensure trade between our countries continues to flourish and grow.”

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UK responds to legal action threats from EU

Following the UK government’s decision to extend grace periods on Brexit checks with Northern Ireland from the end of March until October without the agreement of the EU, the EU has threatened the UK with legal action as it was in breach of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The UK’s Brexit Minister, Lord Frost, said London will defend “vigorously” any legal action brought by Brussels. He further denied that the government had acted without first informing the EU and said that the measures taken were “operational, technical and temporary” and confirmed the government had informed the EU commission before extending the grace period. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said “My view is having spoken to businesses, if we hadn’t have taken the action that we took last week, we would have had empty shelves in supermarkets in Northern Ireland imminently now. I think that would have raised tensions further and it may well have undermined the protocol fatally in a way that is not actually in the best interests of either the EU, the UK or the people of Northern Ireland.”

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Commercial

£30 million funding to install Changing Places toilets

Last year the government made it mandatory for all new public buildings to include toilets for severely disabled people and following on from that they have now announced £30 million in funding which will be available in order to also provide those facilities in existing buildings. Councils will be able to bid for a share of the funding by opting in. If successful, councils can then use the funding to provide Changing Places toilets in buildings such as cinemas, arts and tourism venues, and leisure facilities. Regional growth minister, Luke Hall, said “For too long, the lack of suitable toilet facilities has meant disabled people have faced major difficulties when they shop, go out, or travel and this should not be the case. That’s why the provision of Changing Places toilets is so important for people who cannot use standard accessible toilets.”

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Air Quality Grants awarded to councils

The government has announced that councils across England have been granted more than £5 million in government funding in order to fund local projects to tackle air pollution. Councils will be able to use the money from the Air Quality Grants to help develop and implement measures to benefit schools, businesses and communities and reduce the impact of dirty air on people’s health. Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said “This funding demonstrates our commitment to improving our air and also our openness to innovation, through pioneering initiatives such as campaigns to encourage greater use of electric bikes and education programmes teaching children about the harms of fine particulate matter. We know local authorities are in the best position to address the issues they face in their areas. These projects demonstrate how they can deliver innovative solutions for their communities and we will continue to work with them closely to offer ongoing support.”

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Regulatory

Pavement licences extended for a further 12 months

Local government secretary Robert Jenrick has announced that pavement licences will be extended by a further 12 months, subject to parliamentary approval, in order to support the reopening of outdoor hospitality by allowing them to serve people outdoors from 12 April at the earliest. Mr Jenrick has written to councils telling them that licences must be granted unless “there are good reasons not to” such as plans for future changes in use of road space. He said “It’s vital we work together to do everything we can to help these businesses prosper again. That is why I’ve written to councils calling on their support to use these measures in a pragmatic way to help support the high street, businesses and jobs, once restrictions allow them to do so.” Other existing measures will also remain in place including the relaxation of planning rules to allow pubs and restaurants to operate as takeaways, flexibility for land to be used for temporary events such as markets and no planning application required in order to allow outdoor events such as car-boot sales and summer fairs.

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Good governance toolkit published

The Centre for Governance and Scrutiny and Localis (CFGS) has published a new toolkit to help senior council staff and councillors understand and act on risks to good governance and which is designed to help councillors and officers to identify emerging risks to governance, and to tackle them proportionately. The CGSL said “The framework is not something that needs to be “adopted” by councils and does not operate as a checklist or process that can be used to evaluate governance risk. It provides a way for people within councils to talk about and reflect on governance, and to think about what steps need to be taken to act on emerging governance risks. In particular, it is designed to empower anyone in the organisation to identify and take action on such risks.”

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Government brings together guidance for councils on rules post-Brexit

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has put together guidance designed to help councils in England adapt to new rules after Brexit. The guidance covers upcoming key milestones, access to public services, children’s services, schools and education, the EU Settlement Scheme, points based immigration system, ports and borders, regulatory services, information for Food Competent Certifying Officers and internal operations. It also provides key milestones which are upcoming and which will need to be prepared for.

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Planning and housing

Ban on evictions extended

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced that the ban on commercial evictions has been extended to 30 June 2021 to ensure that businesses are supported as they re-open as part of the governments roadmap out of lockdown. He has also announced that the ban on bailiff-enforced residential evictions and the requirement for landlords to provide 6-month notice periods to tenants before they evict will also be extended until at least 31 May 2021. He also announced that the government is launching a call for evidence on commercial rents to help monitor the progress of negotiations between tenants and landlords.  As part of this they will set out the potential steps that the government could take after the end of June and they welcome feedback on this.

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If you have any questions about the issues raised in this update, please do not hesitate to get in touch.