Local Authority round-up – 17 April 2025
17th April, 2025
Our Local Authority round up provides brief summaries of topical information on a weekly basis, to keep you aware of the changes and updates relevant to you.
Health and Social Care
Recruitment boost has reportedly seen 1,500 GPs hired since October
The Government has supported a recruitment boost within general practices (GPs) by reducing bureaucracy and investing £82 million. It has been reported that excessive ‘red tape’ was preventing practices from hiring newly qualified GPs, resulting in approximately 1,000 GPs graduating into unemployment.
The recruitment boost has allegedly seen the employment of an extra 1,503 GPs since 1 October. It is hoped that the initiative will ease pressure on GPs and cut patient waiting lists.
The investment comes alongside new reforms to modernise GPs, such as allowing patients to request appointments online throughout working hours from October, hoping to make booking appointments easier and more efficient.
For more information please click here.
Housing
Consultation launched to reform environmental regulations
The UK and Welsh Governments have launched an eight-week consultation on reforming environmental permitting for England and Wales in order to make the regulatory process more efficient.
The proposals cover a wide variety of activities undertaken by businesses to protect the environment, such as managing flood risks, handling waste, and the discharging of water.
By simplifying processes such as those required to bring suitable land back into beneficial use, will allow regulators such as the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales to take swifter action. To supplement this, the proposals look to ensure effective controls apply where there is a high risk of environmental harm and to keep the regulatory system open and accountable.
For more information please click here.
Regulatory
Government to reintroduce Neighbourhood Policing
The Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee states that it will ensure 13,000 more officers are placed into neighbourhood policing roles by 2029, an increase of more than 50%.
The early focus of the scheme will be to establish named local officers, target town centre crime and rebuild neighbourhood policing. The measures announced include (among others):
- The establishment of named, contactable officers in each neighbourhood to tackle the issues facing their communities;
- A dedicated team in each community to undertake police patrols in town centres at peak times;
- A dedicated antisocial behaviour lead in every force, working with residents and businesses to develop tailored action plans.
To supplement this, the Government’s new Police Standards and Performance Improvement Unit will hopefully ensure police performance is consistently and accurately measured.
For more information please click here.
Upcoming Events
Commercial Training Academy – The Future of UK Corporate Governance: Getting ready for compulsory ID checks this Autumn
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (the Act), which created new corporate governance requirements to tackle economic crime and create corporate transparency, received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023.
Our webinar, to be held on the 1st May at 12pm, will discuss the changes introduced by the Act which are currently in force as well as any further changes due to be implemented shortly, such as mandatory identity verification for all company directors and persons of significant control.
In this session we will explore topics such as:
- The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act – Providing background information on the key corporate governance changes;
- Authorised Corporate Service Providers – Explaining what the roles and requirements of an ACSP are and how to register as one; and
- Identity Verification – Covering who will need to verify their identity, and how to go about doing so.
To register your place, please click here.
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
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