Local Authority round-up – 7 March 2025
7th March, 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.
Regulatory
Girls will no longer be placed in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs)
Susannah Hancock conducted an independent review into the placement and care of girls in youth custody. Since the publication of the review, the Government has announced that girls will no longer be placed in YOIs but will instead receive care from facilities such as Secure Schools or Secure Children’s Homes.
The review highlighted the complex mental and physical health issues girls facing youth custody often experience, with self-harm at a concerning level. The review found that YOIs cannot offer the therapeutic, trauma-informed support these girls need.
To supplement this decision, the Government will consider the full range of recommendations contained in the review and will develop a long-term action plan in response.
For more information please click here.
Health and Social Care
Reforms to GPs agreed
The Government and the British Medical Association (BMA) have finalised an agreement regarding GP contracts for the first time in 4 years.
The new agreed contract is anticipated to modernise general practice by requiring GP surgeries to allow patients to request appointments online throughout working hours from October, freeing up the phones for those who need them most and making it easier for practices to triage patients based on medical need.
Furthermore, red tape on GPs will be reduced by removing almost half of the targets GPs were required to report their progress against. It is hoped that, in doing so, GPs will be able to allocate more time treating patients.
The reforms are to be supported by an additional £889 million in funding, which increased the total spend on the GPs contract to £13.2 billion in 2025 to 2026.
For more information please click here.
Housing
Government seeking to end the leasehold system
The Government has announced plans to reinvigorate the commonhold system so that it is the default tenure.
The commonhold system will afford homeowners an ownership stake in their building from the outset, providing greater control and autonomy. This is in contrast to leasehold ownership where third-party landlords own the building and make decisions on behalf of occupiers.
A draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill will be published later this year setting out the legal framework for how reformed commonhold will work in practice.
For more information please click here.
Upcoming events
Essential HR Training
Join our expert Business Immigration team on Tuesday 11th March at 10am for our online ‘Essential HR Training’.
This training will focus on the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (“ETA”) scheme which will be fully rolled out in the UK by 2 April 2025. We will provide in-depth guidance on the new scheme during the webinar, addressing potential issues that businesses need to be aware.
This session is aimed at HR professionals, business owners and business leaders. It will be of particular interest for businesses with a global workforce who regularly travel to the UK for work related activities.
To book your place please click here.
Employment Law Update
Join our expert Employment Team on Tuesday 18th March at 10am for our online Employment Law Update.
In this webinar, our expert Employment Lawyers will look at recent changes in legislation and case law in the world of employment law in the last 6 months, as well as reviewing progress on the Employment Rights’ Bill and other proposed changes.
To book 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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