Local Authority round-up: 24/01/25

Regulatory

Government begins to implement Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023

The Government has introduced regulations to implement the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 (the Act), which subject to Parliamentary approval, will take effect from 6^th April 2025.

The Act will allow parents of babies who are admitted into neonatal care within the first 28 days of life, and who remain in care for at least 7 full days, access to Neonatal Care Leave. Eligible parents can take up to 12 weeks of leave (and, if eligible, pay) on top of any other leave they may be entitled to, including maternity and paternity leave.

Neonatal Care Leave will be a day one right, meaning that it will be available to an employee from their first day in a new job. Alongside the leave entitlement, Statutory Neonatal Care Pay will be available to those who meet continuity of service requirements and a minimum earnings threshold.

For more information please click here.

Health and Social Care

Government plans to deliver New Hospital Programme

The Government has confirmed funding and a timetable to deliver the New Hospital Programme.

The schemes will be allocated to one of 3 wave groups:

• Schemes in wave 1 are expected to begin construction between 2025 and 2030. These schemes include hospitals constructed primarily using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), and have been prioritised due to patient and staff safety;
• Schemes in wave 2 are expected to begin construction between 2030 and 2035; and
• Schemes in wave 3 are expected to begin construction between 2035 and 2039.

This timetable follows a review by the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) of the New Building Programme which found that the previous Government’s commitment to deliver ‘40 new hospitals’ by 2030 was behind schedule, unfunded and therefore undeliverable.

The new timetable will be supported by £15 billion investment over consecutive 5-year waves, averaging £3 billion a year.

For more information please click here.

Housing

The LGA demands that Councils be afforded more flexibility under the Right to Buy Scheme

The Local Government Association (LGA) has called on the Government to go further with its reforms of Right to Buy (RTB) to give local authorities more influence over how the scheme operates locally amid rising demand to buy homes through the scheme.

The LGA has reported that more than 123,000 households are in temporary accommodation and more than 1.33 million households are on a social housing waiting list. They argue that it has become ‘increasingly impossible for local authorities to replace homes as quickly as they are being sold under the current RTB scheme’.

Powers the LGA believes should be awarded to local authorities include:

• The ability to set the discount rate on properties under the scheme;
• The power to exempt newly built properties in perpetuity so as to protect their investment improve their existing housing stock; and
• Allowing councils to retain their RTB receipts indefinitely to ensure delivery of replacement homes is maximised.

For more information please click here.

Upcoming events

Essential HR Training

Join our expert Business Immigration team on Tuesday 25th February 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.

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