Briefings and responses

COVID-19 has put adult social care firmly in the public, political and media spotlight. This emergency has highlighted the essential value of social care to the wider public and this interest needs to be harnessed in the debate about the future of care and support. Long-term reform is urgently needed and we are calling on the Government to set out its thinking before the summer recess.

Law enforcement and criminal justice measures are only part of the response needed to tackle serious violent crime. A multi-agency partnership approach is required, working across Government departments and all agencies, including the police, health, charities and a range of local government services such as, education, social services and youth services.

The Government is consulting on the policy design for a new tax that is proposed for the UK residential property development sector. The residential property developer tax (RPDT) will be introduced in 2022 and seek to raise at least £2 billion over a decade.

The LGA continues to campaign for a locally led planning system and this is particularly important as we rebuild and recover from COVID-19.

We are calling for a cross-Government strategy for children and young people to ensure they are at the heart of the national recovery and can thrive, no matter where they are from or their background.

The LGA broadly supports the Bill’s focus on improving the health and wellbeing of the population and the duty of bodies to have regard to this in making decisions.

The consultation and its proposals are wide ranging. In our response we will only comment on aspects of the consultation document that are of direct interest to local government.

The LGA welcomes the opportunity to continue to contribute to the consultations on resources and waste reforms, first set out in the Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy.

It is crucial that these regulations come into effect ahead of summer parliamentary recess, which will provide councils with additional time to consider applications for licences extending beyond September 2021.

Local government wants to see measures that reduce the amount of unnecessary and unrecyclable material becoming an issue in the first place.