Local Authority round-up 22/10/18

Brexit

What has transpired from the EU Brussels summit?

European Leaders and Prime Minister Theresa May attended a summit in Brussels on 17 and 18 October 2018 to ratify outstanding issues contained in the Withdrawal Agreement. The notable conclusions of the summit are as follows: (1) both sides were unable to reach a final deal, due to the outstanding issues over the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland (2) this lack of conclusion could extend the existing agreed transition period beyond December 2020 “by a matter of months” which the EU have since agreed to (3) another EU Summit to be held in December will provide both sides with another opportunity to reach a deal.

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Government releases a further tranche of ‘no-deal’ technical notices

The Government has released a further 28 technical notices containing information relating to the impact of a ‘no-deal’ scenario at the end of March 2019. In particular, what the Government plans to do unilaterally, to assist affected businesses and individuals through temporary waivers and derogations. The latest release includes notices on trading electricity and gas, existing free trade agreements, commercial fishing and consumer rights. With regard to free trade agreements, the Government will seek to establish bilateral UK – third country agreements from exit day onwards with the new agreements replicating existing ones and preferential effects for third countries as far as possible.

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Institute of Directors (IoD) urges Chancellor to issues ‘Brexit planning vouchers’

The IoD has called on the Chancellor to issue vouchers in the upcoming Budget to enable small and medium-sized businesses to submit online applications for immediately redeemable vouchers. The vouchers will enable businesses to purchase legal and professional advice in order to be as prepared as possible for Brexit. The suggestion follows a survey conducted by the IoD which revealed that directors’ confidence in the economy has fallen steadily over the past six months. Stephen Martin, Director General at the IoD pointed out: “for smaller firms in particular, the need is for help to work out their individual exposure to changes that come with Brexit, and the specific measures they can take to adjust.”

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House of Commons publishes briefing paper on Brexit questions in national and EU courts

The House of Commons Library has published a briefing paper discussing the main cases on issues concerning Brexit that have been subject to legal action in the UK and EU courts. In particular, the paper observes that it has proved difficult to use the courts to challenge or clarify key aspects of Brexit, with the notable exception of R (Miller and Santos) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union where the Supreme Court confirmed that the Government could not issue notice under Article 50 by way of the Royal prerogative and would require authorisation of an Act of Parliament in order to do so.

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Commercial

Local Government Association (LGA) warns of risk to European Social Fund

The LGA has expressed concern in relation to the European Social Fund. The fund is the main financial instrument for supporting employment, skills and training in member states and is worth approximately £3.1 billion of investment into the UK economy. In particular, the LGA emphasised that as a result of the Government’s spending, which is showing signs of slowing down rather than increasing, £914 million of the funding could be sent back to Brussels. Moreover, the money could be used to support nearly 650,000 young people to work or support them in training.

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Government launches UK investment opportunities

The Department for International Trade has launched £2 billion worth of new investment opportunities which will create thousands of new homes and jobs across the UK. The new portfolio will include opportunities in Gateshead, such as 5,000 new jobs at Follingsby Max, a new logistics and distribution centre in Gateshead and a new 12,500 seater stadium at Gateshead Quays. Other opportunities will be provided in Sussex, Belfast, Edinburgh and Liverpool. International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said: “As an international economic department, our message is loud and clear: the UK is open for business, and we can help find the right investment for you.”

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Dorset council merger could cost an extra £400,000

Dorset County, East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, Weymouth & Portland and West Dorset councils are set to merge in April 2019. Shadow council members recently heard that an extra £400,00 may be needed to reduce the cost of paying for temporary staff who would be needed because currently serving officers are already maintaining services in the existing councils. However, the officer in charge of the process told the Shadow Dorset Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee the sum was his “best guess” which may be subject to fluctuation.

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Regulatory

LGA responds to Government’s first loneliness strategy

Theresa May has launched the first cross-Government strategy to tackle loneliness in the UK. Mrs May confirmed all GPs in England will be able to refer patients experiencing loneliness to community activities and voluntary services by 2023. In response to the strategy, the LGA has recognised the announcement “is a positive move towards tackling loneliness” however “to maximise the cost effectiveness of loneliness initiatives and improve health and wellbeing, we urge [the] Government to reverse reductions to councils’ public health budgets and plug the funding gap facing adult social care which is set to exceed more than £3.5 billion by 2025.”

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Government refreshes Hate Crime Plan to protect victims and promote shared values

The Government has refreshed the Hate Crime Action Plan which has been designed to address specific concerns across all monitored strands of hate crime: race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and disability. The updated plan includes over £1.5 million of new funding for programmes that work with schools and young people to challenge discriminatory beliefs, promote positive discussions and encourage reporting. Other measures include a wide-ranging Law Commission review into hate crime and a new nationwide public awareness campaign to launch later this autumn designed to educate on what hate crime is.

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Neighbourhood services a ‘serious concern’ report warns

A report published by the Institute of Government and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, titled ‘the Performance Tracker 2018’ sets out the cost and performance of nine public services. It found neighbourhood services such as road maintenance and waste management have received the most funding cuts, but a lack of data had made it impossible to conclude if councils can continue operating at their current level of efficiency. It also expressed concern over adult social care, finding “clear signs” that levels of output cannot be maintained or increased without affecting the quality of service.

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Council proposes a “clean air charge”

Bath and North East Somerset Council have announced plans to implement a £9 “clean air charge” for all high-polluting vehicles, to which the council said would have a “positive” effect on air quality. The proposals are designed to be a penalty for larger vehicles with high NO2 emissions which do not comply with a Euro Size engine standard. The plans will be subject to a six-week consultation process and if approved and will apply to some diesel vehicles registered before September 2015.

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Planning and housing

Council loses Supreme Court battle over licence conditions

Nottingham City Council has lost a Supreme Court case over whether it was right to prohibit the use of two attics as bedrooms in two houses in multiple occupation. The council imposed licence conditions prohibiting their use for sleeping and Trevor Parr Associates appealed to the First-Tier Tribunal against these conditions. The council appealed to the Supreme Court which was rejected. The court concluded: “the condition limiting the occupation to persons engaged in full-time education is rationale and enforceable. The court considers, however, that the requirement limiting occupation to ten months is irrational.”

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Where are house prices rising the fastest?

According to the Office of National Statistics, house prices are rising the fastest in the East Midlands, increasing by 6.5% in the year to August. Wales also showed a significant rise – up by 6.2% over the same period. However, a “sustained slowdown” in the south and east of England has pulled back house price growth across the UK. On average, the typical UK home has risen in value by 3.2% over a year, which means the average UK property cost £233,000.

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LGA conducts housebuilding study

The LGA has conducted a study focusing on council housing building and assessing the rise of council house building, which is currently between c.1,000 and 2,000 per year. The findings of the study draw on three major activities: (1) a review of policy and research (primarily since 2015) (2) an online survey of councils that have retained their housing stock and (3) 10 detailed case studies. The study is centred around ‘innovation by local authorities in building council housing’ to which major recommendations are made and centred around creating the local conditions necessary to take forward this agenda.

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Government distributes unsafe cladding funding

The Government has released its first tranche of funding which is dedicated to removing and replacing unsafe aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding systems on social sector high-rise housing in England owned by social landlords. The funding, an estimated £400 million, will enable 12 local authorities and 31 housing associations to replace the unsafe cladding or social or residential buildings they own which are 18 metres or higher. As work is ongoing, costs are subject to change and so the Government will be closely monitoring progress.

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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 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.

Wednesday 7th November 2018 (Leeds)

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