Briefings and responses

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill acts upon long running asks from councils and the LGA for further devolution in England. We are pleased that the Government has proposed to speed up the process and make good on its commitment to offer all of England the opportunity to benefit from a devolution deal by 2030.

The first principle of the waste hierarchy is to prevent waste in the first place, and this is where action on net zero must focus.

Overall, the LGA welcomes this best practice guidance. It provides helpful clarity on some complex issues in taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licensing and will be a useful resource for both licensing authorities and the taxi and PHV trade.

We are concerned that the wording of the Bill will require the public sector to spend time and money seeking market solutions for goods and services which can currently be delivered effectively by collaborative arrangements within the public sector.

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill acts upon long running asks from councils and the LGA for further devolution in England.

According to a study by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, an estimated 1.5 million households across the UK will struggle to pay food and energy bills over the next year due to rising prices and higher taxes.

In our response to the original consultation we raised serious concerns that the proposals could have unintended consequences, for example affecting councils’ ability to invest in infrastructure and housing via wholly owned companies and have serious impacts on some councils’ revenue budgets.

There is no hard evidence to support the argument that removing the flexibility for councils to charge will reduce the amount of fly-tipped waste.

Councils have demonstrated throughout the pandemic that they are uniquely placed to respond to local needs and reach their most vulnerable residents.

The Local Government Association (LGA) supports the overall aims of the Online Safety Bill (OSB), which makes provisions for Ofcom to regulate certain internet services.