On behalf of its membership, the cross-party LGA regularly submits to Government
consultations, briefs parliamentarians and responds to a wide range of parliamentary inquiries. Our recent
responses to government consultations and parliamentary briefings can be found here.
The Local Government Finance Settlement has provided extra money to meet COVID-19 costs, new funding for adult and children’s social care and for councils with responsibility for services such as homelessness, planning, recycling and refuse collection, which will help meet cost and demand pressures next year.
The primary purpose of this Bill is to renew the Armed Forces Act (AFA) 2006 and, in so doing, continue in force the primary legislation governing the armed forces.
We welcome closer working between the VOA and local authorities. This must be accompanied by measures to significantly reduce the backlog of appeals. The VOA and councils must receive additional funding to implement these changes.
Adult social care and support is a vital service in its own right. It helps people of all ages to live the life they want to lead. It binds our communities, helps sustain the NHS and provides essential economic value to our country. Too often health and social care are set on unequal footings, with the latter viewed (sometimes solely) in terms of the role it can play in supporting the former.
The Domestic Abuse Bill introduces important measures which will help to raise awareness of domestic abuse and will go some way to providing additional support to domestic abuse victims, whilst also helping to challenge perpetrator’s behaviour. It is a positive step in the right direction.
We welcome the reintroduction of the Environment Bill. The legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic must be that we, as a nation, grasp the opportunity to protect and enhance our natural environment, and tackle the climate emergency. It is vital that we continue to improve air quality, protect against flooding, and ensure our transport, waste and energy policies are environmentally sustainable.
The early years sector experienced challenges throughout the first national lockdown with more than 69,000 early years providers temporarily closing during the coronavirus pandemic.
LGA’s view is that the £20 per week uplift in Universal Credit (UC) should be retained to provide necessary support to low-income households and to prevent unsustainable costs falling on councils.
The Local Government Association (LGA) welcomes the opportunity to submit a representation ahead of the Government’s March 2021 Budget. The LGA works to support, promote and improve local government. We will continue to contribute to Government’s national priorities and ambitions and support councils through challenging times by making the case for greater devolution, helping councils tackle their challenges and assisting them to deliver better value for money services that provide sustained outcomes for residents and communities. This submission has been approved by the LGA’s Chairman and leaders of all LGA political groups.