Government Business 29.01
Public health services at risk, say council leaders
The government has announced that England will fully return to Plan A on 27 January thanks to the success of the booster programme.
This means the advise for working from how is removed, face coverings will no longer be required by law in any setting, although public health guidance will remain in place, and venues and events will no longer be required by law to use the NHS Covid Pass.
Unsurprisingly, health leaders have warned against the move, saying that caution is still necessary. The Local Government Association has also used the timing of the announcement to raise the issue of a lack of certainty around councils’ public health funding this year, which, it argues, risks exacerbating the growing crisis of demand for support services that has built up as a result of the pandemic.
Council leaders are calling on the government to urgently publish the Public Health Grant funding allocations which councils will receive from April, as coronavirus pressures intensify due to the Omicron surge.
The LGA said time is also running out with councils having to make critical decisions on renewing contracts for vital public health services, including for health visiting, sexual and reproductive health and suicide prevention, potentially leaving people without crucial help and support.
Michael Lyons, editor
Government Business 28.06
Numbers that make for difficult reading
The past few weeks have produced a number of news stories that present difficult reading for the government.
All local authorities with children’s services across the UK have been informed of the government’s intention to temporarily mandate the National Transfer Scheme, after record numbers of migrants attempted the journey across the English Channel in recent months, culminating in the deaths of 27 people at the end of November.
That is a situation that has solutions available, although time will tell whether existing pressures in local areas make such arrangements as straightforward as hoped.
Meanwhile, the Nuffield Trust has warned that the social care sector in England may have lost up to 50,000 workers across all providers of care in the months leading up to winter. The shortfall is fuelling an invisible care crisis in people’s own homes with many unable to access the care they need, impacting hospital discharges.
The warning followed a survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services which found that almost 400,000 people are now waiting for an assessment of their needs or service, and that one in two councils has had to respond to a care home closure or bankruptcy over the past six months.
As if the winter months were not hard enough already.
Michael Lyons, editor
Government Business 28.05
A name change for local government department
Following a cabinet reshuffle last month, the MHCLG was rebranded as the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with Michael Gove at the helm.
Despite many Conservative MPs remaining unsure as to what levelling up means or looks like, the Prime Minister said that his new Secretary of State for Levelling Up will drive cross-Whitehall efforts to deliver a programme of tangible improvements in every part of the UK as we build back better from the pandemic, and deliver on the people’s priorities.
Neither Boris Johnson or Gove outlined what they felt the people’s priorities were, but the latter did describe the levelling up agenda as ‘the defining mission of this government’. On the steps of Downing Street at the end of 2019, new Prime Minister vowed to ‘fix the crisis in social care once and for all’, which goes to show that defining missions can, of course, be misleading.
A second headquarters in the city of Wolverhampton, recently unveiled, is a good starting point for shifting priorities and pledges away from Westminster and into new communities, but, as the Local Government Association said in its response to Gove’s appointment, the coronavirus crisis has emphatically shown what can be achieved when the government empowers councils to innovate and create new services locally. So, more of the same please, Mr Gove?
Michael Lyons, editor
Government Business 28.04
Local action on tackling climate change
It is now less than 100 days until representatives from around the world will gather in Glasgow for Cop26
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of missing in action, Cop26 President Alok Sharma has been found to have flown to 30 countries in the past seven months, which, when combined, stretches to 200,000 air miles, and Allegra Stratton, Johnson’s climate change spokesperson, has openly discussed why she chooses to drive a ‘third-hand’ diesel Volkswagen Golf.
But, do not despair. Away from the doom and gloom of Westminster, change is happening at a local level.
In this issue we share the views of Rachel Coxcoon on some of the community-based initiatives changing the perception of climate and energy policy, Charlie McNelly and Rob Franklin explain how local authorities can embark on their net zero journeys, and James Goodman explores the importance of empowering communities to take action towards restoring nature in their local areas.
The pandemic has highlighted the inequalities that blight our regions, but it has also shown how change can progress undeterred when people come together to improve the lives of their communities. Let’s hope that local action will be recognised and encouraged in the lead up to Cop26, and that those currently ‘missing in action’ give it the focus it deserves.
Michael Lyons, editor
Government Business 28.03
COP26 and maintaining Net Zero urgency
There was news this week that ten trees for every person in Glasgow City Region will be planted as part of a new urban ‘forest’.
As the city prepares to host COP26 in November, the pledge equates to approximately 18 million trees being planted over the next decade, increasing woodland cover in the region from 17 per cent to 20 per cent. The pledge is being viewed as an ideal opportunity for Glasgow City Region to demonstrate its commitment to reaching Net Zero.
It is refreshing to see that the urgency and eagerness to continue the progress made on lowering emissions and creating sustainable cities and communities has not dampened as restrictions have eased.
Recent research from Global Action Plan found that two-thirds of young people are worried about how air pollution will affect their health, while a group of metro mayors and council leaders, part of UK100, have stressed that the UK will struggle to reach its climate change targets unless more power and money is put into local hands.
It is important that this stays on the agenda, which is why the online NetZero GOVERNMENT event on 17 June will be key in highlighting the need to neutralise public sector emissions by 2030 and those of residents and businesses by 2045.
Michael Lyons, editor
Government Business 28.02
Remote council meetings to be abandoned
Local authority meetings will have to be face-to-face from 7 May, under new guidance from the MHCLG.
For the most part, the government is being very cautious in its roadmap out of lockdown. Although outdoor sports facilities are now open, entertainment, tourist and non-essential retail all remain closed until at least 12 April. Meetings of groups of more than six is unlikely before 17 May, and even then it is expected to remain capped at six indoors and no more than 30 outdoors.
It is quite surprising then that the government has said that emergency legislation regarding virtual council meetings will not be extended beyond 7 May - earlier than the 17 May date mentioned above. It is also earlier than the 21 June date that MPs can continue participating remotely until.
Although guidance has been updated to help them operate safely and securely, including using existing powers to reduce the number of face-to-face meetings deemed necessary, it is not surprising that many local government bodies, including the Local Government Association and the County Councils Network, have labelled the move disappointing.
There are question marks over whether council chambers will have enough room to sufficiently distance all those present, raising the possibility of having to hire larger premises.
As the CCN’s David Williams said, the decision is ‘illogical’ at best.
Michael Lyons, editor
Government Business 28.01
Positives for local gov
There hasn’t been much over the last year, but there has been some positive news to local government this week.
The local government finance settlement has been confirmed, with much-needed access to an extra £1bn for social care to help support vulnerable adults and children. On top of this, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced NHS reforms, with ministers seeking to advance the way in which councils and NHS services set up bodies that can make decisions about how to join up services. Although this has been happening for a number of years now already, having government backing can only be a good thing.
Although incredibly overdue, there is now central government funding available for the removal of unsafe cladding for all leaseholders in high-rise buildings, backed by an investment of £3.5bn, whilst the Cabinet Office has said that the government pledge to raise billions of pounds by selling off surplus land and buildings which were no longer needed by the public sector has been exceeded.
But, perhaps most importantly of all, as many as nine in 10 local authorities in England have now signed up to the community coronavirus testing programme to offer regular targeted testing for people without symptoms.
Whilst hospital data still provides stark warning against complacency, there is no denying that involving local authorities in testing and tracing in their communities has boosted the reach of the government’s programme, and with vaccine targets likely to be met the ongoing need for local assistance will only grow. Their unrivalled knowledge and connections must be properly utilised moving forward.
Michael Lyons, editor
Government Business 27.06
Can 2021 be the year of Net Zero progress?
In the last few weeks, the eye catching announcements have been numerous - Brexit trade talks ongoing; more than 70 per cent of the country set to be Tier 3 restrictions; and community testing rolled out to Tier 2.
All of this, whilst of the upmost importance, means that other news stories have been overlooked. One of which was made by UK100, who announced that 38 regional leaders, including city mayors and council leaders, are signing the UK100 Net Zero Pledge, explicitly committing them to neutralising their emissions by 2030 and those of their residents and businesses by 2045 - essentially, pledging to move quicker than Whitehall.
With the coronavirus pandemic hitting public services hard and shifting government focus away from other areas, it is possible that some of the climate awareness and support that came to the fore in 2019 has dropped this year - which makes pledges such as this even more important.
Ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, let us hope that next year we can see more local efforts to reach Net Zero. As Polly Billington, director of UK100, said: ‘Local leadership, alongside funding and powers, is key to winning the Race to Net Zero’.
We wish all of our readers, contributors and supporters a safe and enjoyable Christmas and best wishes for a happy New Year in 2021
Michael Lyons
Editor
Government Business 27.05
Are local powers key to fighting coronavirus?
A few days ago, Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester urged the government to hand more powers to local authorities to help retain public support and tackle rising numbers of coronavirus cases across the country.
Burnham is not shy about calling out ministers for their shortcomings. In recent months he has campaigned for payments for people self-isolating, a simplification of lockdown rules, better access to testing and for the government to reconvene Cobra as a matter of urgency with places for all of the English regions.
All of his suggestions seem both logical and entirely feasible. But what is attainable is not always what is deemed possible by a government who seem to have lost all sense of logic. Manchester may be an obvious example and Burnham a vocal critic, but you can look at cities from across the UK and see the same problems and local leaders seeking the same assistance and clarification.
With the furlough scheme set to close and Test and Trace seeming to be deteriorate in success by the week, surely the need to look local is well and truly upon us. Local areas in tiers 2 and 3 must be able to request local control of the Test and Trace system, with resources transferring from the national system. If not, winter will be unmanageable.
Michael Lyons, editor
Government Business 27.04
Lockdowns show lack of empathy for the north
It has been two weeks since more than four million people in the North of England awoke to news that new restrictions had been imposed upon them overnight, following spikes in coronavirus cases.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s 10pm brainwave tweet to announce lockdowns was rightly met with widespread derision.
As we go to print, Oldham has become the latest region on the brink of local lockdown after the town’s seven-day infection rate overtook the ones in Blackburn with Darwen and Leicester.
Surely more needs to be done to understand why England’s worst-affected areas are largely concentrated in the north of the country - Manchester, Rochdale, Tameside, Pendle, Middlesbrough. These areas of high infection are generally areas of high deprivation, and instead of blaming those flouting social distancing, which is another argument for another time, government action is needed to ensure that the marginalised and vulnerable get the support they need.
The recent decision to strengthen regional contact tracing, whilst overdue, will not solve the issue on its own. Blaming those who choose to work rather than self isolate only highlights the lack of empathy Westminster has for our northern communities.
Michael Lyons, editor
