News & Events

Listed below are the national news items and national events.

LLG Awards 2017 Winners Announced
Publish date: 28/11/2017
The LLG Awards 2017 took place on Friday 24th November 2017 at the Burlington Hotel, Birmingham. It was a fantastic evening showcasing the exceptional legal talent across the membership which is so vital to the work of local authorities. A huge thank you to the sponsors and membership for making the evening possible and a bigger thanks to Clive Myrie who stepped in last minute to cover John Pienaar who had been called to Brussels with the PM. Winners and pictures are within the article.
Bevan Brittan Free Annual Court of Protection Seminars
Publish date: 11/10/2017
SAVE THE DATE - ANNUAL COURT OF PROTECTION SEMINARS Back by popular demand, Bevan Brittan are very pleased to announce that they will be running their free annual Court of Protection seminars in the Autumn; Dates for your diaries:- 31 October – Bristol 7 November – London 8 November – Birmingham 9 November – Leeds
LLG President Doreen Forrester-Brown looks back over the last 18 months of Office
Publish date: 08/09/2017
In the last month of her Presidency, Doreen looks back over a remarkable 18 months for LLG.
LLG Awards Deadline extended to 11th September 2017
Publish date: 04/09/2017
The Awards deadline has been extended to 11th September so you still have time to submit your one page outline! Click for nomination form
LLG's Honorary Members Lunch
Publish date: 24/08/2017
John Emms provides an amusing and delightful account of the Honorary Members Lunch held at the Queens Hotel, Leeds.
LLG Announce Sweeping Governance Changes and Appointment of Interim Chief Executive.
Publish date: 28/07/2017
LLG's President sets out the recommendations from the Governance Review and next steps in the process including the appointment of an interim Chief Executive Officer.
Helen Lynch, LLG's National Lead for Governance & MO Reports on the Committee on Standards in Public Life seminar on Local Government Standards
Publish date: 13/07/2017
The Committee on Standards in Public Life hosted a seminar on Monday 10 July 2017 to launch their annual report for 2016-17 and forward plan 2017-18. The informative session was well attended by a host of stakeholders from across the public sector. The Committee has identified 4 key areas of activity for 2017-18; MP’s Outside Interests, Local Government Standards, Public Service Providers and the Impact of Social Media. In respect of Local Government Standards, the Committee regularly receives correspondence from the public expressing concern about the issue. The Committee therefore intends to undertake a review of standards during 2017-18. The review will be based around a consultation that will be launched early in 2018 with findings and recommendations to be published later in 2018. I have registered LLG’s interest in taking part in this consultation. As MO & Governance Lead, I will co-ordinate a collective response. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me with your views in relation to the standards arrangements. I will invite further comment once the consultation has been launched. Click the header for link to the committee's strategy
Lord Kerslake Stresses the Importance of Local Government Lawyers having the ear of the Chief Executive
Publish date: 04/07/2017
The LLG Stakeholder Event took place on Friday 30th June 2017 at the Caledonian Club and was an enjoyable and insightful examination of the current issues and challenges facing local government.
LLG Sponsor MJ Awards Legal Services Category
Publish date: 20/06/2017
Congratulations to Coventry City Council who won the Legal Services Category at the MJ Awards sponsored by LLG. The event was a splendid occasion celebrating the work of local authorities and well done to the City of Wolverhampton Council for winning the Local Authority of the Year Award. Click for pictures
Secure & Stable? Olwen Dutton Examines the Election Result
Publish date: 09/06/2017
Olwen Dutton, Partner at Anthony Collins examines the impact of the election result on Brexit; Health & Social Care; Education; Housing; New Investment; Local Government, Social Business & Charities and the Key Message.

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