Local Authority round-up 01/10/18

Brexit

Jeremy Corbyn says no-deal would be a “national disaster”

Prior to a meeting with the European Union’s chief negotiator, Jeremy Corbyn has warned that a no-deal Brexit would be a “national disaster.” Mr Corbyn’s comments follow the Labour Party Conference to which he said Labour would oppose a no-deal outcome and vote against any deal based on Chequers, as it would be extremely unlikely to meet the party’s six tests. However, he confirmed that if Theresa May produced a deal that “includes a customs union and no hard border in Ireland” that protects jobs, people’s rights at work and environmental and consumer standards, it will receive his support.

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European Union Committee publishes ‘the customs challenge’ report

The EU External Affairs Sub-Committee has published a report on the Government’s Chequers proposal for a Facilitated Customs Arrangement (FCA) and the customs challenges. In the case of a ‘no-deal’, the report finds that trading with the EU under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules would be disruptive and costly. Up to 245,000 businesses currently trade exclusively with the EU and would need to gain expertise in complex customs procedures. The report also highlights that the Government has not yet made clear how goods under the FCA could be reliably tracked, and are yet to test the repayment mechanism which will take several years to be developed and implemented.

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Theresa May issues statement following Salzburg Summit

Following an EU summit in Salzburg on 19 and 20 September 2018, Theresa May has warned that the Brexit negotiations are “at an impasse” and there will be no progress until the EU treats her proposals seriously. Mrs May has also said that the two sides remain “a long way” apart from the crucial issues of how the UK will trade with the EU after Brexit and the future of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The next few weeks will be crucial if these differences are to be resolved. The two sides are expected to fulfil their shared aim of an orderly Brexit and outline an agreement on trade, security and other issues.

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British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) comments on latest technical notices

On 24 September 2018 the Government published a further 24 technical notices covering areas such as aviation safety, flights, vehicle insurance, farming, patents and trademarks, importing and exporting and product labelling. In response to the publication, Mike Spicer, Director of Research and Economics at the BCC said: “If the EU and UK fail to reach a withdrawal agreement, businesses will urgently need comprehensive answers to the many outstanding questions on business continuity” and while some businesses will be reassured by the latest notices, such as those relating to IP protection, “the admission that loss of market access is a possibility for others will be deeply unsettling to those affected.”

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Final trade deal must be imminent, German chancellor warns 

At a conference in Berlin, the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel has warned the British Government that the 21-month Brexit transition period will not be sufficient if the terms of a future trade-deal with the UK are not finalised within the next eight weeks. EU leaders fear if the parameters and limitations of the future deal with the UK are not made clear now, then negotiations after Brexit will be prolonged and disorganised. Robert Azevedo, The Director General of the WTO said: “clearly there will be an impact, and it’s not going to be a good one” but that the role of the WTO would be to “minimise the negative effects that this is going to have.”

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Commercial

£7.5 million fund opens for councils’ digital innovation

Councils seeking to transform their public services through digital innovation can apply to a new £7.5 million fund from 24 September 2018, Local Government Minister Rishi Sunak has announced. Grants of up to £100,000 will be available for projects which demonstrate they benefit local public services and have the potential to be rolled out more widely across the country. Councils and central government departments in England are eligible to submit an expression of interest, whether individually or in partnership with other councils. The deadline to submit an expression of interest is 5 October 2018.

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First multi-million pound plan to fit sprinklers commences

Sprinklers are to be installed in all 16 high-rise council blocks in Stoke-on Trent, making the council the first in the country to install sprinklers in its entire high-rise stock. The council-funded scheme was first outlined in January 2017 but last year’s Grenfell Tower fire brought the project “into sharp focus” the council confirmed. The installation is part of a city-wide fire safety programme being led by Unitas, the authority’s housing maintenance firm. Overall, the project is expected to take five months and cost £350,000 to adapt the 12-story block.

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Supreme Court rejects bid to appeal ruling on £2.7 billion PFI contract

The Supreme Court has refused to grant contractor Amey Birmingham Highways Limited (ABHL) permission to appeal in its dispute with Birmingham City Council (BCC) over the correct interpretation of a £2.7 billion highways PFI contract. A dispute arose following the council’s performance manager noticing that some parts of the roads and footpaths were being left unrepaired and ABHL were leaving defects in selected areas untreated. The judge, with whom Lord Justice Moylan and Sir Stephen Tomlinson agreed, rejected ABHL’s interpretation of the contract which would have the effect of reducing their workload, alternatively increasing their profit if BCC issued change notices.

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Regulatory

Government accused of allocating council funding by “political convenience”

The Government has been accused of adjusting financial settlements in favour of the wealthiest councils, by the coalition of urban councils, SIGOMIA. The criticism follows the proposals for the forthcoming Local Government Finance Settlement which would go back on agreed funding levels to channel even more funding into some of the most affluent areas in England, at the expense of poorer councils. Councillor Stephen Houghton, leader of Barnsley Council highlighted that Knowsley and South Tyneside have suffered a 30% cut to funding and receive nothing, whilst areas such as Surrey have suffered a 4% loss and receive £27 million.

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Report reviews arrangements for tackling workplace issues in the Civil Service

The Cabinet Office has published a report setting out the analysis and conclusions from a review carried out of the arrangements for tackling bullying, harassment and misconduct in the Civil Service. As part of the review, civil servants were invited to share their ideas and experiences through a survey created for this purpose, with just under 19,000 responses. It covers both how Civil Service organisations are ensuring employees feel able to speak up and report issues, and how issues are handled once raised, and sets out the actions being taken as a result of the review.

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Social landlord confirms move to open-ended assured tenancies

One of the UK’s largest social landlords, L&Q, has said it will end the use of fixed term tenancies (FTTs) and instead offer open-ended assured tenancies as its preferred tenure type. L&Q will also move 8,500 existing fixed term tenants onto assured tenancies. David Montague, chief executive of L&Q, said: “We found FTTs to be a crude tool that have not fixed the problems they were created to address. What’s more, the renewal process causes unnecessary worry for residents.” The social landlord also added that it was “working closely with residents to develop a compelling offer to support aspiring homeowners and customers who need to move due to a change in their circumstances.”

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Case reminds councils that school admission policies should be non-prejudicial

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LG&SCO) have published a report upholding two complaints against Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) after it changed its school admission arrangements. Mrs X and Mr Q complained to the LG&SCO who found that NCC had unfairly changed the admission arrangements causing injustice and recommended that NCC apologise to both families, pay both families £500 per school year until such time as the eldest sibling left school A or places become available for the younger siblings, and pay each family £500 for distress and time and money spent in approaching the LG&SCO.

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Planning and housing

Theresa May announces affordable housing funding

Speaking at the National Housing Federation (NHF) summit on 19 September 2018, Theresa May announced £2 billion in funding which is intended to help long-term construction decisions, which will be assigned over the next 10 years. Addressing the summit of NHF, Mrs May said she has been told the sector needed “stability provided by long-term funding deals.” Under the plans, housing associations, councils and other organisations will be able to bid for the funding starting from 2022, and in return Mrs May said housing associations should use their expertise, connections and long-term planning to “achieve things neither private developers nor local authorities are capable of doing.”

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Where does the burden fall in chasing Community Infrastructure Levy forms?

The decision of a Planning Inspectorate looked at the risk of not chasing the collecting authority to supply a requested commencement notice (CN). The appellant contended that the CN was submitted late as they had not received the blank notice from the collecting authority, following a request. The inspector stated that it was the appellant’s responsibility to submit the necessary CN and if they had not received the forms, the onus was on them to contact the collecting authority to chase it up. To commence works on the development without having done so was a risky strategy to take. Consequently, Regulation 67(1) of the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 was breached and a surcharge was payable.

Upcoming seminars

As you may well know we run a programme of seminars on a wide range of topics. Listed below are those seminars coming up which we feel may be of interest to you. Please click on the links for further information and to book your place. You can see our full programme of upcoming events by clicking here.

Housing Managing Law School – Autumn Term

This will be the twelfth semester in our series of Law Schools and the Autumn term will bring with it a brand new programme, with our experts covering up to the minute topics that you need to know about. The sessions will cover a housing law news round up, GDPR for housing management, the rising cost of disrepair and an ask the experts case surgery and Q&A session.

Wednesday 3rd October 2018 (Newcastle)

Wednesday 17th October 2018 (Manchester)

Wednesday 24th October 2018 (Leeds)

Procurement law update

This session is designed to provide you with a unique opportunity to hear first-hand from leading procurement experts who will share their thoughts on the most topical issues of the moment, as well as reviewing the new regulations one year on from introduction.

Thursday 11th October 2018 (Newcastle)

Thursday 18th October 2018 (Newcastle)

Wednesday 7th November 2018 (Leeds)

Thursday 15th November 2018 (Manchester)

Thursday 22nd November 2018 (London)

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