Briefings and responses

The Local Government (Pay Accountability) Bill purports to “ensure transparency and accountability on council salaries” by requiring Full Council to meet and approve by resolution the salary for any roles advertised or appointed at or over £100,000 a year (a figure that is not indexed in any way). This is unnecessary and unhelpful and we urge the Government to withdraw support for this Bill.

The Housing Ombudsman ran a consultation on the development of Good Practice from 26 March to 21 May 2024. The publishing of Good Practice aims to help organisations learn from the mistakes of others, and improve their services accordingly by conducting self-assessments.

Healthy Start is an NHS scheme that provides additional cash support to the lowest-income families with children under 4 years old, and pregnant and breastfeeding women, to buy milk, fruits, vegetables, pulses, and vitamins. Money is provided to families on a pre-paid card that can only be spent on authorised items.

Working in partnership with local government on shared goals could be as effective as statutory guidance on litter enforcement, and would allow for local flexibility. Litter is not just a local authority problem, and the LGA would like to see the organisations that produce and sell packaged items take responsibility for litter.

We have argued for the Bill to go further in supporting tenants’ rights and providing stronger regulatory and enforcement powers, and for government to ensure sufficient funding councils to enforce these measures and fully realise our shared ambition for a fairer, more secure, and higher quality PRS.

Sport and leisure play a positive role in promoting the health and well-being of people and their communities, with local councils continuing to work hard to provide these services despite financial constraints.

The LGA supports the Government’s amendments to introduce a mandatory duty on certain professionals to report child sexual abuse (CSA) as part of a holistic approach to improving the response to CSA. While it is a positive step forward, the duty must not be considered a silver bullet nor introduced in isolation. It must be supported by wider national action to ensure all professionals are trained to identify abuse, support victims to disclose abuse and ensure they receive the best possible support when they do.

The LGA fully agrees that local enforcement of traffic regulations is vital to ensure that our roads are safe for all users and that people can move without undue interference.

The Department for Housing, Levelling Up and Communities held a consultation from 6 March to 1 May 2024 on the proposed introduction of an accelerated planning service, changes to the use of extension of time agreements, expanding the written appeals process, and introducing section 73B applications to vary planning permissions.

Councils want to work with government on developing and funding a better system for accommodating and supporting asylum seekers.