News & Events

Listed below are the national news items and national events.

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.
LLG Submits New Burdens Statement to the Ministry
Publish date: 27/03/2019
LLG has submitted a third paper to the Ministry, this time on New Burdens. This article sets out the position statement which was considered by the EU Exit Advisory Panel
Weekend School Interactive Brochure - Launched!
Publish date: 15/03/2019
See the interactive brochure for Weekend School 2019
Next CEO Webinar announced - 20th March 2019
Publish date: 07/03/2019
The March free CEO webinar has now been announced - register your interest now!
Annual General Meeting of Lawyers in Local Government - 30th March 2019
Publish date: 04/03/2019
Notice for Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) Annual General Meeting - 30th March 2019

Blog

16 August 2019

Publish date: 16/08/2019

This week more than 300 council leaders and chief executives virtually met with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick. The live streamed conference discussed Brexit preparations and included minister's George Eustice and Luke Hall from DEFRA and MHCLG respectively as well as the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and the Home Office. Using the hashtag #BrexitBreifing, Robert Jenrick MP tweeted on Tuesday, "today I hosted the first Brexit briefing for council leaders, chief executives and newly appointed Brexit Lead Officers, Local government has a vital role to play on preparing the country to leave the EU on 31^st October'

Brexit Lead Officers were announced last Saturday by the government who are asking local authorities to appoint individuals to liaise with central government to plan for Brexit at speed on a community level. Financial support to cover additional work has not been completely clarified although a funding pledge of 20 million has been made by the government. It is unclear whether this is in addition to the monies already announced. 78% of the existing pledged 58 million has already been allocated.

News reports are claiming that worst case scenarios flagged by the government internally include disruptions in the food supply chain, increasing costs and reduced medication flows for both human and animal treatment together with a high risk of public disorder and community tensions. Concerns still abound around ports, fisheries, agriculture, social care and the economy.

Local Authorities have been making several efforts way before the call for Brexit leads this week including; generating standing items, providing forums, training, website pages and community leaflets. The government has formulated a local government preparedness section on the Ministry's website and the LGA has launched a Brexit advice hub for local authorities including a useful section on no deal implications.

LLG continue work on the EU exit statutory instruments but we really need your help. We want to set up a working hub to share and disseminate information. Let us help you connect to each other, share the workload and identify best practice. If you have undertaken any work or mapping in this area around identification of internal governance arrangements from the scheme of delegation through to authorisations, policy and procedure then please do contact me.

Best wishes

Helen McGrath

Head of Public Affairs

Helen@llg.org.uk