News & Events

Listed below are the national news items and national events.

Calculation of Councillor’s Term of Office
Publish date: 23/04/2019
Following requests for clarification on calculating the date of a councillor’s retirement or start of their term of office after scheduled local elections on 2 May 2019, the Association of Electoral Administrators and Lawyers in Local Government have sought legal opinion on the ‘effective fourth calendar date’ under the Local Government Act 1972.
Ministry Responds to LLG Brexit Paper
Publish date: 15/04/2019
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have responded to LLG's Brexit Position Statement in full. Click the link to read our briefing paper on the Ministry's response
LLG Bulletin Weekend School Special Edition Now Available
Publish date: 08/04/2019
All the news from the LLG Weekend School 2019 now available in a special bulletin edition
EU Exit Secondary Legislation Laid with Impacts on Local Government
Publish date: 08/04/2019
The Ministry have published Statutory instruments which have been laid and identified as having impacts on local authorities. LLG are delighted to advise it was consulted and contributed to this list. Follow the link to access
House of Commons Library Publishes Statement on European Elections and an Extension to Article 50
Publish date: 04/04/2019
The European Parliament (EP) elections are scheduled for 23-26 May 2019. The EU says the UK will have to take part if it is still an EU Member State when they take place, although others disagree. The Government has accepted the EU position and the Prime Minister is now proposing a further Article 50 extension that will enable the UK to leave the EU by 22 May.
The HCLG Committee Call on the Government to take Urgent Action to Enable Councils to Prepare for Brexit
Publish date: 03/04/2019
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has called on the Government to take urgent action to enable local authorities to prepare for the consequences of Brexit. The Committee sets out urgent priorities to improve information sharing and Brexit preparations at a local level together with key policy actions that the Government needs to take in the long term.
Cabinet Office will Reimburse Reasonable Spending by Returning Officers on Contingency Preparations for European Parliament Elections
Publish date: 01/04/2019
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has written to the Electoral Commission to advise it remains the intention for the UK to leave the EU with a deal and not take part in the European Parliamentary Elections in May, but that he can confirm that the Cabinet Office will reimburse reasonable spending by Returning Officers on contingency preparations for European Parliament Elections.
Phillip Horsfield Elected President of LLG at the AGM
Publish date: 01/04/2019
Phillip Horsfield was elected the new President of LLG at our AGM on 30th April. Read all about Philip's leadership plan for his presidential term.
Suki Binjal Highlights Her Term of Office at the LLG AGM
Publish date: 01/04/2019
Suki Binjal handed the Presidency of LLG to Phillip Horsfield at the LLG AGM at the Weekend School 2019 on 30th April in London. Suki looks back on her Presidency and highlights all the work undertaken over the past year.
Directors Report 2019 Now Available
Publish date: 27/03/2019
The Directors Report 2019 is now available to read in the document section of the website with the AGM folder.

Blog

14 June 2019

Publish date: 14/06/2019

This week the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Rishi Sunak MP announced that property revaluations for business rates payers in England will now take place every 3 years; an increase in frequency from the current 5. In consequence, the 2022 revaluation will now take place a year earlier in 2021. Whilst underpinning the economy and ensuring retention and indeed revitalisation of the high-street are exceptionally important drivers, the resulting economic impact on local authorities could be substantial. The Government, as we know, has phased out revenue support grants making local authorities wholly reliant on local income. Business rates will form an important part of this revenue. LLG are pulling together several questions for the Ministry to answer in a live webinar taking place on the 19^th June 2019. We will certainly be asking whether a contingency budget to cushion a drop off in business rates and council tax due to economic instability and increasing unemployment will be provided outside of the pledged 58 million. We will also be pushing to know if the Government has analysed the number of local authorities which could be pushed over the edge post Brexit, based on the number of councils finding themselves in an increasingly precarious financial position, together with their plan for delayed economic shock.

We are already seeing a knock-on effect on services within the regulatory field. The National Audit Office (NAO) this week warned that food standards check's fell to 37% of those required with spending cut by 19%. Head of the NAO, Gareth Davies said, "The regulatory system is showing signs of strain with fewer food control staff in local authorities and delays in the checks they carry out on food businesses" and called for the Government to evaluate the impact of Brexit. We will certainly be asking the Ministry what planning around the impact on Trading Standards in regard to capacity and resilience has taken place. Meanwhile the District Councils' Network at a parliamentary inquiry on the strategy implications for councils in respect of the Government's resources and waste strategy announced "zero confidence" that councils will be compensated by the Government for new burdens arising from the new functions. The reforms include free garden waste collections, food waste collections by every council and consistency in recycling.

LLG have pulled together a wide variety of questions covering numerous disciplines to put to the Ministry live, next Wednesday 19^th June 2019 at 1pm. You can register and listen free to what they have to say here.

Best wishes

Helen McGrath

Head of Public Affairs

Helen@llg.org.uk