Legislation, news and updates

Keep up to date with the progress of various legislation, recent news and updates relevant to local authorities across the South East. SEE is happy to provide you with any further information or discuss how we can best support you and your authority in relation to any of the following issues.

Allocation of Accommodation: guidance for local housing authorities

On 30 March, the Government consultation regarding new draft statutory guidance on social housing allocations for local authorities in England closed. It is hoped the guidance will assist authorities to take advantage of the provisions in the Localism Act 2011 which give back to local authorities the freedom to manage their own waiting lists, and make it easier for them to move existing social tenants to more suitable accommodation. View draft guidance.

Community Right to Buy

Under the Community Right to Buy, as introduced in the Localism Act 2011, important local amenities and buildings (such as old town halls, community halls, village shops or pubs) can be nominated for listing by the local authority as assets of community value. If listed assets come up for sale, communities will have extra time to prepare a bid to take them over, making it easier to keep much-loved assets in public use and part of local life.

Proposals to introduce a Community Right to Buy - assets of community value: Consultation paper

Community Right to Challenge

A recent update has confirmed the Government are looking for a body to support community groups to use the community right to challenge (this right was introduced in the Localism Act 2011). It is proposed the delivery body will be required to help community groups compete against private firms in the tendering process. There is likely to be a three-year programme to March 2015 whereby this body will directly support relevant groups to bid for and take over the running of relevant public services.

Full LGC article

(published 3 April 2012)

Community right to challenge policy statement

Open Public Services

Council Tax Freezes

Approximately £675 million of Government funding will help local authorities in England freeze or reduce their council tax in 2012 -2013. Councils that do so will receive additional one off funding, equivalent to raising their 2011 - 2012 council tax by 2.5%. Discussions are currently in progress, but so far nearly 75% of local authorities within the South East have signalled their intention to freeze council tax for 2012-2013. Approximately, 55 out 74 local authorities intend to freeze, whilst the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and South Oxfordshire District Council plan to decrease council tax. Local authorities want to be seen as supporting residents through these times of austerity, and on average it is hoped that each Band D household could save £72.

View list of authorities who have signalled intention to freeze or reduce council tax. PDF 48Kb

Letter from Bob Neill to local authorities

(published 10 Feb 2012)

General Power of Competence

Eric Pickles has fast tracked a Parliamentary Commencement Order bringing into force a new General Power of Competence for councils, to ensure Town Halls can continue to hold prayers. Read more.

Under the general power of competence, local authorities are able to do anything an individual can do unless specifically prohibited by law.

Health and Social Care Act 2012

The Health and Social Care Act received Royal Assent on 27 March 2012.

The Act creates a new role for local authorities in Public Health - authorities will be given responsibility for health improvement currently carried out by Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). This will include a requirement for upper-tier local authorities to create health and wellbeing boards responsible for developing joint strategic needs assessments and a joint health and wellbeing strategy. Additionally, the boards will play a role in promoting joint commissioning and can act as lead commissioner for some services.

The Act also extends the scrutiny powers of local authorities to cover all NHS funded services and will give local authorities greater freedom in how these powers are exercised.

Health and Social Care Act 2012

Localism Act 2011

Following Royal Assent on 15 November, the Localism Act 2011 reached the statute book.

Localism Act 2011 (c.20 PDF 2Mb) PDF 2Mb

Key points include:

A new general power of competence
Abolition of the Standards Board
Clarifying the rules on predetermination
Enabling councils to return to the committee system of governance, if they wish, regardless of their size
New planning enforcement rules
A new Right to Buy
A new Right to Challenge
Increasing transparency on local pay and council expenditure
Introducing a new right to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan.

DCLG have published an updated version of their ‘Plain English Guide’.

SEE explore the Act and what it means in practice for our member authorities at the biannual Local Democracy and Accountability Network.

Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and Police and Crime Commissioners

The Act, which received Royal Assent in September 2011, replaces police authorities with directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs); elections for PCCs will be held in November 2012.

PCCs will be scrutinised by police and crime panels, which will be formed of a minimum of 10 representatives from the local authorities in the force area. The duties of the panel include:

requiring the PCC to respond to any concerns they have
making recommendations on the crime plan and annual reports
confirming or vetoing the PCCs appointment of chief constable and the level of local tax (the precept level).

Read the full Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act

The Home Office are publishing regular bulletins regarding the establishment of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs). Read bulletins.

View the Police and Crime Commissioners Timeline, setting dates and actions until March 2013 which is the deadline for agreement of the Police and Crime Plan.

The LGA has offered to share its knowledge and assets with the planned PCCs from November.

Right to Buy your Home

Under the Right to Buy scheme, social tenants can buy their council home at a discount. As of 2 April 2012, the Right to Buy discount has increased to a new maximum of £75,000.

Your right to buy your home: A guide

(published 3 April 2012)

Your right to buy your home: Summary

(published 3 April 2012)

Right to buy your home: press release

(published 3 April 2012)

Standards Regime Changes Delayed

The implementation of the new standards regime under the Localism Act 2011 has been delayed until July 2012. Read more.

Troubled Families

The 10 local authorities with the largest number of troubled families have agreed to sign up to the Government's ambitious scheme to turn around the lives of 120,000 problem households by 2015. In the South East, Kent County Council is on board and looks to receive approximately £8,500,000 over the next three years. This programme is taking money from across Whitehall to help local authorities get to grips with whole families and deal with their problems at root cause through proven techniques, rather than a multitude of agencies working with single people within a family, often just reacting to their problems. The aim is to deliver reductions in those families’ unemployment, school absences, crime and antisocial behaviour. Councils will only be given a full payment for their work when they have delivered results and reduced the £75,000 costs to the taxpayer that these families cause through demands on services each year.

Read press release

(published 28 March 2012)

The Troubled Families programme: Financial framework for the payment-by-results scheme for local authorities

(published 28 March 2012)

What is a troubled family?

Page updated 05 April 2012