This briefing sets out the amendments to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill that the LGA will be supporting at report stage in the House of Lords.
About the Local Government Association (LGA)
The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national voice of local government. We are a politically-led, cross-party organisation that works on behalf of councils to ensure local government has a strong, credible voice with national government.
We aim to influence and set the political agenda on the issues that matter to councils, so they are able to deliver local solutions to national problems.
Introduction
This briefing sets out the amendments to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill that the LGA will be supporting at report stage in the House of Lords.
The amendments relate to the following areas:
- Tourism and culture
- Prohibition of parking on footways and verges
- Private hire vehicle licensing
- Public service partner cooperation
- Local gambling
- Fire governance
- Assets of community value
- Scrutiny and accountability
- Commissioners
- Local governance
- London governance
- Committee governance
The LGA opposes amendments related to:
- Reintroducing the requirement on councils to publish details of referenda on local governance arrangements in newspapers.
For the LGA’s view on other aspects of the Bill, please refer to our earlier briefing published ahead of report stage.
If you are interested in working with us to ensure the Bill best supports local and strategic authorities in improving outcomes for the communities they serve, please contact [email protected].
Relevant amendments
HL1 – Lord Freyberg – area of competence: Tourism
This amendment adds tourism to the “economic development and regeneration” area of competence for strategic authorities.
LGA view
The LGA supports this amendment. Local tourism is a major economic driver, highlighted by the introduction of the overnight visitor levy at the Autumn Budget. Formally including tourism within this area of competence for strategic authorities would better integrate it with local planning and support economic growth and help improve how the new overnight visitor levy is governed and delivered.
HL2 – Baroness Taylor – area of competence: Culture
These amendments add culture as an area of competence for strategic authorities.
LGA view
The LGA welcomes this government amendment and is grateful for the work of the Earl of Clancarty and others on this issue. The LGA has consistently argued that the culture sector directly contributes to national and regional inclusive economic growth and has advocated for this to be formally reflected within the devolution framework. This additional competency would empower Mayors, working in partnership with constituent authorities, to identify strategic collaborations at a regional level, taking account of any sub-sector regional specialisms or strengths.
To ensure that mayors and strategic authorities can engage with the breadth and diversity of culture in their area, including the arts, heritage and creative industries, non-statutory guidance should be co-produced with the sector and published post enactment to better define this area of competence.
HL 42, HL 46, HL 54 – Baroness Taylor: Commissioners
These amendments increase the number of commissioners which the mayor can appoint to a maximum of ten, enable multiple commissioners to be appointed within a single area of competence, and ensure a commissioner’s work can relate to one or more aspects of an area of competence, rather than having to relate to every aspect of an area of competence.
LGA View
Whilst the LGA has expressed concerns over the role, recruitment and appointment of commissioners, increasing the number of potential commissioners the mayor can appoint allows for flexibility to separate policing and fire responsibilities arrangements. The LGA has raised concerns over the potential risk of role duplication between the deputy mayor for policing and crime, and public safety commissioners. Where a mayor exercises PCC powers, the mayor should rely on the deputy mayor for policing and crime as the dedicated lead for police and crime matters and should not appoint an additional public safety commissioner. Conversely, mayors without police authority should continue to have the option to appoint a public safety commissioner to advise on community safety – but not if they later gain policing powers.
HL 45 – Baroness Scott: Commissioners
This amendment requires that appointments of commissioners by mayors are made through a fair an open selection process, and that the criteria and process for appointment are published, as well as their remuneration, to ensure transparency and accountability.
HL 67 – Baroness Taylor: Local scrutiny committees
These amendments establish local scrutiny committees (LSCs), which will replace overview and scrutiny committees in all mayoral strategic authorities. The London Assembly already undertakes functions equivalent to those set out below, so these changes will not apply to London.
LGA View
The LGA is broadly supportive of the government’s amendments to strengthen strategic authority scrutiny arrangements through introducing local scrutiny committees.
However, in line with their constituent local authorities, it should be left to individual combined authorities to identify an appropriate level of quoracy for local scrutiny committees, rather than imposing two-thirds majority.
We welcome the provision within this amendment to compel commissioners to attend scrutiny proceedings. The LGA has expressed concerns over the role of commissioners and ensuring robust scrutiny arrangements to hold them to account, given their potentially significant role and remit.
Government must provide and ensure adequate resources are in place to establish and staff the committees.
The LGA also supports amendments to strengthen of police and crime commissioners and further transparency on allowances and appointments. However, there should be transferral of robust scrutiny arrangements for police and crime boards or police, fire and crime boards.
The LGA welcomes formal recognition of neighbourhood areas; however, it is crucial that these are aligned with neighbourhood health geographies and future local police areas too.
The LGA supports this amendment. The LGA has consistently called for clarity on the recruitment, appointment, scrutiny and accountability of commissioners. The LGA is ready to work with Government to produce clear and transparent statutory guidance on this issue.
HL 124, HL 127 – Baroness McIntosh: Local growth plans
This amendment, connected with another in the name of Baroness McIntosh, seeks to ensure that local growth plans include provision about cultural venues.
LGA view
The LGA supports these amendments. We have called for national formal recognition of culture and creative industries via an additional strategic authority competency within the devolution framework, as outlined above. These sectors directly and indirectly drive inclusive economic growth, and there should therefore be consideration of culture and cultural venues in local growth plans.
HL 210, HL211 – Baroness Taylor: Local governance
This amendment reintroduces the requirement for a local authority to publish a resolution to change governance arrangements in a local newspaper.
LGA View
The LGA opposes this amendment, and is concerned by the additional administrative burden this will place on councils. The LGA has expressed concerns about the Government’s decision to require councils to move from a committee system to leader and cabinet model. As councils will be required to go through a process of governance change, this requirement is an unnecessary mandated exercise to impose on local government.
HL 243 – Baroness Taylor: London governance
This would enable UK Government ministers to pay grants to joint committees of all the London boroughs and the City of London.
LGA view
The LGA supports this amendment. The LGA has called for a formal decision-making role for London local authorities within the Greater London Authority. This would enable better collaboration, better outcomes, and better value for money in public services across the region.
HL 245, HL 265 – Baroness Taylor: Prohibition of parking on footways and verges
These amendments would enable the Secretary of State to make regulations which give English local transport authorities the power to prohibit the parking of motor vehicles on footways and verges.
LGA view
The LGA supports this government amendment. We have long called for the ban on pavement parking to be extended to all areas of England, with councils able to make exemptions.
The LGA is keen to see that operating costs for implementing this ban are covered, including putting up signs and deciding on exemptions. If this is to be resourced by local authorities, Government must provide new burdens funding. The LGA also seeks clarity on where revenue of enforcement will be collected. We advocate for this revenue to be collected and retained by local enforcement authorities. This system has and continues to operate effectively in Greater London.
HL 252, HL 264 - Baroness Taylor: Assets of community value
The amendments:
- Make transitional provision so that the list of assets of community value and unsuccessful community nominations currently held by a local authority will become the list of assets of community value and unsuccessful community nominations under the new community right to buy provisions for England inserted by Schedule 29 to the Bill.
- Change the time period during which an asset of community value is to be included on a local authority’s list from five years to ten years.
LGA View
The LGA strongly supports the Government's recognition of administrative burdens on councils and introducing measures to manage and minimise this through the amendment to enable councils to use existing registers of assets, rather than starting from a blank slate. Councils have already built up a strong knowledge and understanding of assets locally through administering the right to bid. Further, extending the time on the register reduces the need to frequently review the register, and will be appropriate for most assets. However, councils must retain the ability to review and in exceptional circumstances remove assets that for various reasons may no longer be appropriate to have on the register.
HL 279 – Baroness Taylor: Private hire vehicle licensing
These amendments establish national standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing and strengthen enforcement by enabling licensing authorities to temporarily suspend licences in the interests of public safety, including where they were issued by another authority.
LGA view
The LGA supports this change, which will raise standards and support licensing authorities to take effective enforcement action against taxis and PHVs operating in their areas but licensed elsewhere. However, authorities must be adequately resourced to enforce licences issued elsewhere, as income from licences goes to the authority which issued the licence. We would also like to see the development of a national database of all licensed taxi/PHV drivers, vehicles and operators to facilitate greater information sharing between partners and assist with safeguarding. We ask Government to work closely with licensing authorities on the implementation of these changes to ensure effective execution of these objectives is informed by local experiences and real-world delivery.
HL 305 – Baroness Taylor: Licensing of gambling premises
This amendment would amend the Gambling Act 2005 to enable licensing authorities to adopt policies to prevent the grant of gambling licences to address the cumulative impact of multiple premises or to uphold other licensing objectives in that Act.
LGA view
The LGA supports this amendment which will help local authorities to more effectively designate areas where the number or density of gambling premises is leading to issues that undermine the gambling licensing objectives. We would advocate for the requirement on licensing authorities to “aim to permit” to be removed entirely: this would give authorities more power to consider a wide range of potential negative impacts, as well as the cumulative impacts from multiple gambling premises.
HL 309 – Lord Bichard: Duty of local service partners to cooperate
This amendment seeks to introduce a statutory duty on local public service partners (such as NHS bodies and police and fire authorities) to cooperate with strategic authorities and principal councils.
LGA view
The LGA supports this amendment. Clause 21 gives mayors the power to convene local authorities and public service partners, supporting the Government’s ambition for joined-up local leadership. However, the duty is one-sided, with no clear obligation on partners to engage. A reciprocal duty on local service partners to cooperate would strengthen collaboration in local decision-making, service planning and policy implementation.
Additional messages
- We welcome Government’s recent announcement inviting expressions of interest for further foundation strategic authorities (FSAs) in England. To ensure a joined-up approach to devolution and public service reform across the country, we ask Government to come forward with a clear timetable and commitment to support the establishment of FSAs across England and the achievement of 100 per cent devolution in England, including for those areas where strategic authority geographies have not been agreed.
- This timetable should provide a framework for the wider integration of public services, including join up with new NHS operating model (including integrated care boards (ICBs)), forthcoming NHS Reform Bill, reform of police and crime services and commissioners through the Policing White Paper, and reform of fire and rescue services to ensure there is coordination across government departments, and efficient use of local and broader public service resource and capacity to meet national ambitions for change.
- There should also be clarity and join up with further forthcoming legislation and plans which will impact on strategic and local authorities in England to ensure sustainable and successful local government. This includes forthcoming legislation on standards and accountability in England, and plans for fiscal devolution.
- As it currently stands, there is insufficient financial detail in the Bill, specifically the financial arrangements relating to mayoral SAs. Clarity is needed over how SAs will be funded over the long term. Over-reliance on mayoral precepts and levies risks the sustainability of SAs and is predicated on whether mayors choose to enact these revenue-raising powers. New powers and responsibilities must be backed by sufficient resources, but these cannot be at the expense of existing, hard-pressed council budgets.
- Councils are committed to working with Government, alongside strategic authorities, on the detail to ensure plans for fiscal devolution deliver the ability to raise and retain resources locally, define local priorities, and lead integrated public services in ways that reflect local needs.
- The English Devolution White Paper (EDWP) set out commitments to empower SAs to act on climate change and the environment, including in helping deliver the local power plan and local nature recovery strategies. The LGA seeks to transpose commitments set out in the EDWP into the Bill with similar levels of detail as included for other competencies. Consensus could not be reached within the Local Government Association on this issue. In line with the LGA's governance framework, this position therefore reflects a majority view of the LGA's political leadership. Both the LGA Conservative Group and Reform UK Group are opposed to this position and voted against it when put to the LGA’s Neighbourhoods Committee.