Briefings and responses

We need to safeguard our democratic structures. These changes in legislation, policy and practice need to apply to protecting representatives of local government as well as national government.

The LGA is calling for a convention to debate and agree a constitutional settlement for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

This response has been agreed by Lead Members of the LGA Resources Board.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities held a consultation on implementation of plan-making reforms between 25 July and 18 October 2023. A genuinely local, plan-led system delivers positive outcomes for places and communities. The LGA are supportive of the plan-making process being sped up in order to help achieve greater coverage of plans across the country, but only where there is no dilution of plan quality, and democratic and community engagement.

Property continues to provide a good basis for a local tax on business. Business rates is efficient to collect and has been relatively predictable and buoyant in recent years. However, the changing nature of business alongside the nature of demand pressures on councils means that we cannot look to business rates to form such a substantial part of local government funding in the future and alternative means of funding councils will be needed instead of or as well as a reformed business rates system, of which one example is a tax on online businesses.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities held a consultation on permitted development rights, including additional flexibilities to support housing delivery, the agricultural sector, businesses, high streets and open prisons; and a call for evidence on nature-based solutions, farm efficiency projects and diversification between 24 July and 25 September 2023.The LGA are dismayed and strongly oppose the Government’s pursuit to extend national permitted development rights further. We continue to call for them to be urgently revoked.

Key messages The LGA also supports the decision to maintain the majority of other machine stakes and prizes at their current level, as well as the decision not to amend maximum machine numbers and the machine-table ratio in casinos. We believe that Government should move now to introduce a mandatory levy on the gambling industry to fund research, education and treatme

The Local Government Association (LGA) is here to support, promote and improve local government. We will fight local government's corner 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.

In our view, the proposals in the two consultations earlier this year were a valid attempt by CIPFA to alleviate some of the worst of the short-term problems, problems that are both a major aspect of the current crisis and a symptom of the long-term problems. It is therefore disappointing that it has not yet been possible to finalise a satisfactory outcome in response to those proposals. 

Section 19 and 22 operators play an important role in the provision of transport for councils and are often the only means by which people can maintain an independent life, reducing the demands on other public services.