EMC POLICY BRIEF - East Midlands Councils
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
EMC POLICY BRIEF
A weekly round up of local government news in the East Midlands brought to you by
East Midlands Councils
Top items this week 24 APRIL 2020
EMC HR Summary of Interim arrangements for Democratic Service Officers
COVID-19 Information update COVID-19 Guidance & North and West virtual meeting
Information Northamptonshire
COVID-19
The latest round up of information from East Midlands Councils relating to COVID-19.
Employers’ Information
EMC Weekly Summary of COVID-19 Guidance & Information for HR Colleagues - EMC is providing HR colleagues in the
East Midlands with a weekly summary of Covid-19 developments and some of the FAQ’s we have received and
responded to, for the benefit of sharing with everyone in a timely way. This will also include the LGA and Regional
Employers update. If you are not receiving this weekly summary, contact Mila.Pereira@emcouncils.gov.uk.
Health and Social Care
Public Health England Chief Executive Duncan Selbie's Friday Message - The 17 April message covers the
Government's new action plan for adult social care and increased COVID-19 testing in social care settings, new mental
health advice on PHE's Every Mind Matters platform, the new COVID-19 dashboard, and the new senior leadership
arrangements for PHE's regional teams [details here].
Data on COVID-19 - The LGA’s LG Inform COVID-19 cases data reports have now been update and the LG Inform reports
on COVID-19 hospital cases are now available again. These are updated daily, after Public Health England publish the
information on their website. The new data in the reports shows the number of positive tests there have been on each
date – but it means there is a lag. In effect, the five latest days have low numbers simply because not all the tests on
that day have had the results reported yet. The LGA has modified LG Inform to make this ‘provisional’ data (which is
likely to change) clearer for you, by shading it in grey.
Local authority report (which now shows a map of English authorities over time)
England overview report (which contains the top ten councils)
Local Government
Democratic Services Officers practitioner network - EMC and Association for Democratic Service Offices (ADSO)
colleagues in the region held a virtual meeting on Thursday 23 April, over 30 Democratic Service Officers from across the
region took part in the virtual session. The focus was on providing democratic service officers with an opportunity to
share experiences on virtual council meetings, hearing from those that have already held council meetings in this way.
The meeting also included discussions and sharing of information on what are councils are doing to support good
governance and decision making in our present circumstances. For more details contact kirsty.lowe@emcouncils.gov.uk
The LGAs Remote Council Meetings Hub - The LGA has launched a remote council meetings hub, in collaboration with
Socitm, Lawyers in Local Government (LLG), National Association of Local Councils (NALC), Centre For Public Scrutiny
(CfPS), Association of Democratic Officers (ADSO), as well as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government (MHCLG). The Hub is a central pool of information, advice and guidance from these partners across local
government, including:
Regulations: Guidance around what the regulations mean for councils.
Guidance: On some of the practicalities, skills and etiquette required when holding remote council meetings both
for officers and councillors.
Case studies: Examples and resources of councils that have piloted virtual meetings using various video
conferencing platforms, including key points to consider and contacts to follow up with.
Video Conferencing and audio platforms: An A-Z of video conferencing and audio platforms (though please note this
is not an exhaustive list and inclusion does not mean endorsement).
Peer to peer support: List of upcoming and previous virtual Council meetings and webchats/online discussion
forum/webinar which colleagues can access to observe, share good practice, problem solve and learn from.
COVID-19, Local Government continued COVID-19: protecting the local government sector supply chain from fraud, Joint guidance from the LGA and the CIPFA Counter Fraud Centre - This guidance acts as a reminder of the continuing risks to supply chains posed by fraud and corruption, many of which are exacerbated by emergency circumstances [details here]. Approaches to managing licensing and related issues during the COVID-19 pandemic - A summary of issues councils’ licensing teams and others have raised with the LGA and outlines how these could be managed based on a set of key principles and examples of what councils have already advised us they are doing in response. This information covers different areas of licensing including the Licensing Act (LA 2003), taxis, gambling, animal establishments and scrap metal. While this note is intended to promote consistent approaches by licensing authorities, each council will of course need to assure itself of the approach it takes, balancing the desire to support local businesses, the objectives of relevant legislation and the council’s capacity [details here]. Councils’ new powers and duties - Under the Coronavirus Act 2020 new powers have been introduced for councils, along with amendments to existing legislation. The LGA have released a round-up which summarises these changes, to help you navigate this complex piece of legislation. This has also been added to our useful subscription service LG Inform Plus, which maintains lists of primary legislation covering all the powers and duties English and Welsh local authorities are responsible for. This system also provides councils with more than one billion data values to help you understand your local areas, make better strategic decisions, streamline resources and improve governance. If you would like more information please contact coronavirus.enquiries@local.gov.uk Tackling domestic abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic -This LGA document aims to provide a range of resources which offer help, guidance and support to tackle domestic abuse. The LGA has provided a brief overview of domestic abuse and how councils can provide help and support to domestic abuse victims during the COVID-19 pandemic, and tackle perpetrators’ abusive behaviour [details here]. Homelessness Dame Louise Casey writes to Local Authority homelessness managers and rough sleeping coordinators - Dame Louise Casey, who is spearheading the government's response on rough sleeping, thanks those who have worked to support 5400 rough sleepers off the streets in the past month [details here]. Business and Economic Support Grant funding provided to businesses by local authorities in England - The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published data on the amount of money distributed to SMEs by every local authority in England as part of the 2 grant schemes launched to help businesses deal with coronavirus. As part of the government’s coronavirus business support package, the UK government has distributed £12.3 billion to local authorities in England. As of 20 April 2020, £6.11 billion has been paid out to 491,725 business properties [here]. New measures to protect UK high street from aggressive rent collection and closure - High street shops and other companies under strain will be protected from aggressive rent collection and asked to pay what they can during the coronavirus pandemic [details here]. Migration, Asylum and Refugee Resettlement The East Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership is providing daily updates on their webpage in relation to asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in the East Midlands, as well as those working with and supporting them [available here]. They also provide a weekly summary on this via email, to receive this email Hannah.Smith@emcouncils.gov.uk. Guidance on working with migrants and refugees during the COVID-19 crisis by CIH - Chartered Institute of Housing have put together a fact sheet that is intended to help those working with people with different kinds of immigration status. It is based on the information provided by the housing rights website. Click here to access the factsheet or click here for information on how does the outbreak affect migrants' access to housing and benefits. Coronavirus (COVID-19): getting support if you’re a migrant living in the UK - This page explains the support available for those who do not have permission to live permanently in the UK [details here]. The situation and advice on the response to the Coronavirus are developing, and the information above is extracted from the .gov websites as at the time of publishing this Brief. We advise all partners to use .gov websites as the most up-to-date source of information. Employers’ Information Local Government Pay Negotiations 2020- The National Employers have made final pay offers to the unions representing the main NJC workforce, Craftworkers, Chief Executives and Chief Officers on 16 April 2020. The attached circular sets out the details [details here]. Trade Union response - The response from UNISON, GMB and Unite to the pay offer made by the Employers is available here. Employers Circular Pay Update on 17.04.2020 - The letter below has been sent on behalf of the National Employers to the unions representing Green Book employees, in response to their letter of 17 April 2020. The attached circular sets out the details [here].
Employers’ Information
Updates on Apprenticeships - The latest updates from the LGA on apprenticeships can be found
here. It covers the following:-
Post-webinar Q&A on apprenticeships and COVID-19
Plans for issuing the next iteration of Government guidance on COVID-19 and apprenticeships
Additional Government guidance on financial support for education, early years and children’s
social care
Update on the Teacher Apprenticeship End Point Assessment
Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP): information on how employers of key workers can by
exception continue applying to join the register as employer providers
Information on T-Levels
CEEP News - CEEP UK’s newsletters provide an update on recent developments at European level on workforce
matters and the most recent newsletters can be downloaded here.
Local Government News
Public Accounts Committee launches inquiry on local authority commercial investment - On 11
May 2020 the Committee will question officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and
Local Government on gaps in commercial skills in local government, and the extent to which the
Department formally monitors commercial activity and long-term exposure to risk. The inquiry was
launched on 17 April and is currently accepting evidence. The Committee will also ask officials about the Ministry’s
response to COVID-19, and what impact the pandemic has had on local government finances. For more information
visit here.
Interim arrangements for North and West Northamptonshire shadow councils agreed by Government - Following
the postponement of May’s local elections because of the Covid-19 pandemic, an alternative approach and new
legislation were needed for the creation of the organisations.
The response to the current Public Health emergency is the top priority for all councils in the county. However all
Council leaders recently welcomed the news that new legislation was being published to ensure the changes to local
government would not interfere with the Covid-19 response.
As expected, the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has now set out these changes to
the legislation passed in Parliament earlier this year. The amended regulations were published on 17 April and will
come into effect on 8 May.
This means the North and West Shadow Councils will still be set up next month to lead the preparations for creating
the two unitary councils. Instead of being made up of newly elected councillors, they will combine the membership of
the existing district, borough and county councils. The existing councillors will sit on the shadow authorities until 1
April 2021.
The elections to the new unitary councils will then place on 6 May 2021.
The Shadow North Northamptonshire Council will comprise of 152 members, and the Shadow West
Northamptonshire Council will comprise of 134 members. At present, the Local Government Reform programme is
overseen by two groups, a Leaders’ Oversight Board, comprising all eight leaders and two Joint Committees, one for
the north and one for the west.
MHCLG has decided to use these governance arrangements to select Leaders and Deputy Leaders of the two shadow
authorities with a term of office from now until May 2021. They propose to use the Leaders’ Oversight Board to
appoint the Chairs, and the Joint Committees to appoint the Deputy Chairs. For the full press release visit here.
EMC Leadership East Midlands Councils
Chair: Cllr Martin Hill OBE First Floor Offices, South Annexe
Vice Chair: Cllr David Mellen Pera Business Park
Vice Chair: Cllr Jonathan Morgan Nottingham Road
Conservative Group: Cllr Roger Blaney Melton Mowbray
Labour Group: Cllr Alan Rhodes. Leicestershire
Lib Dem Group: Cllr David Bill MBE LE13 0PB
Independent Group: Cllr Jason Zadrozny
Click on our Twitter & YouTube accounts for further information.
Executive Director: Stuart YoungYou can also read
