Local Authority round-up 29/01/21

Brexit

Agreement between UK and Swiss Confederation on police cooperation

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has published details of an agreement between the UK and Switzerland on police cooperation. The purpose of the agreement is to strengthen police cooperation in an effort to prevent threats to public security and tackle criminal offences, notably serious crimes including fraud, financial crime and corruption, in particular by exchanging information at strategic and operational levels, and by maintaining contact between Competent Authorities, in accordance with each Party’s national laws and international obligations. The agreement provides for the exchange of information, including personal data, cooperation in the development of systems and technology and joint operations. The agreement does not apply to mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, extradition, the transfer of proceedings or the enforcement of penalties in criminal proceedings. For the United Kingdom, the Competent Authorities includes The Home Office, HM Revenue & Customs, The National Crime Agency, Crown Prosecution Service, Serious Fraud Office, UK police forces and designated law enforcement authorities, and any other body or organisation which is affiliated to UK law enforcement or which is established or hosted by them.

For more information please click here.

Amazon to remove some products for sale to Northern Ireland

Following the UK’s departure from the EU, Northern Ireland remains part of the EU’s single market for goods which means that parcels arriving into Northern Ireland from the UK will need a customs declaration and may also be subject to excise duty twice on shipments. There is currently a grace period on the changes until 1 April 2021 but Amazon has already announced that from the beginning of the year it would not ship beer, wine and spirits to Northern Ireland due to the extra measures and costs it faced. It has now also announced that other goods such as food supplements and some over-the-counter medicines may also be unavailable. A UK government spokesperson said “These goods will not be taxed twice, and we will issue new guidance clarifying the position to ensure any remaining issues are addressed.”

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Webinar: Data protection post Brexit – be prepared

The first in our series of post-Brexit webinars will be looking at the impact the UK’s withdrawal has had and may have on data protection rules, and how you can prepare for what is to come. Damien Charlton will be in conversation with our data protection experts Phil Tompkins and Chris Bowen on 3rd February at 12pm.

For more information and to book please click here.

Commercial

New funding to improve life of mothers and babies

The 19 projects chosen to share a £7.6 million fund to reduce health inequalities among new mothers and babies have been announced by the Government. The Health and Wellbeing Fund: Starting Well will focus on mothers living in BAME communities or deprived areas. The chosen projects will focus on promoting nutrition, learning, language development and mental health during pregnancy and post birth. Public health minister, Jo Churchill, said “Everyone deserves to live a long, healthy life and the perfect time to start to achieve it, is in the beginning. Vital support for improving mental health of mothers, nutrition of babies and the learning and development of children in early years will help ensure the best possible start by reducing the inequality some face.”

For more information please click here.

£23 million for councils to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations

Communities secretary Robert Jenrick has announced £23 million in funding to create a Community Champions scheme in order to encourage high-risk groups to have the COVID-19 vaccination. The funding will be allocated to 60 councils so that they can run the scheme in their areas to provide advice about the vaccines including Champions who will work with councils to tackle misinformation and identify barriers to accessing accurate information. Mr Jenrick said “Today’s funding will help councils and community groups expand some of the excellent work already underway and reach out to their communities to ensure they have the information they need and get their questions answered. Ultimately this funding will help save lives.”

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Regulatory

Councils to carry out checks on animal product imports

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has announced that councils have received £14 million funding to carry out new checks on imported animal products from the EU.  The new checks on imports will be introduced in a phased way with documentary checks on animal products for human consumption starting from April 2021. It will also see over 500 new port health roles being created.  Ashford Borough Council and Dover District Council have received £8.8 million in investment and a further £5.2 million is being spent on recruiting staff, equipment and new systems in 19 other councils around England, including East Suffolk District Council, Manchester City Council, North East Lincolnshire Council, Portsmouth City Council and the City of London. Farming, fisheries and food minister, Victoria Prentis, said “This funding will allow local authorities to play their part in maintaining standards and efficiency at our borders, while also providing investment in new jobs and infrastructure.”

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Councils urged to have better oversight of free nursery place charges

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has urged councils to have better oversight of nurseries offering free early years places. The call comes after Kiddi Caru nursery in Market Harborough was found to be charging parents the difference between the amount Leicestershire County Council paid the nursery for the free places and the amount they charged private customers even though government guidance states that the nursery places must be free to parents. When the Ombudsman carried out an investigation they found that the council had audited the nursery but had not identified that their charging policies did not comply with government guidance. Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said “Guidance states that councils should work with providers to ensure invoices are clear, transparent and itemised. Free must mean free, but in this case it was not possible for the man to see how the invoice was calculated or whether his daughter was receiving her entitlement free of charge. We are concerned that local authorities may not be delivering on the government’s pledge to parents, so I would urge other councils across the country to check their processes to ensure providers in their area are not making the same errors.”

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Planning and housing

South Oxfordshire Local Plan facing a judicial review challenge

Campaigners have launched legal action to take their local council to court over an unpopular housing plan. South Oxfordshire District Council approved its Local Plan in December last year, which set out where 30,000 homes can be built in the area between now and 2035. There are now plans for 13,500 homes to be built and group Bioabundance has now begun legal action over its environmental impacts which “grossly over provides for housing.” Under the plans, there are proposals for homes to be built on green and brown belt sites. Cabinet member for planning Anne-Marie Simpson said the council was “faced with no real choice but to adopt the plan” due to a “very real possibility of the government removing planning powers from South Oxfordshire if the plan was not adopted.”

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Council threatened with legal action over pedestrianisation plans

Independent traders in Bristol have threatened legal action against Bristol City Council plans to pedestrianise part of St Mark’s Road which is noted for independent traders. The street is one of 13 in the city which the council is considering turning into a pedestrianised area in order to encourage walking or cycling. The council carried out a survey of the proposed plans however the St Mark’s Road community group have said that the council has “failed in its legal duty” to consult residents as the council’s survey end date was “unrealistic” due to Covid-19 and is now threatening legal action. The survey has to be completed online and in a bid to help people complete it the community group set up a computer in community kiosk but due to lockdown restrictions this was closed down and people were therefore unable to complete the survey by the 29 December cut-off date.

For more information please click here.

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