Agenda and minutes

No declarations of interest were made.

Apologies were received from Lord Porter of Spalding CBE, Cllr Paul Carter CBE, Cllr Izzi Seccombe OBE, Cllr Sean Anstee, Cllr Sue Murphy CBE, and Cllr Lib Peck.

The Senior Vice-Chair welcomed Lord Kerslake, Chair of the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS), and Jacqui McKinlay, Chief Executive of the CfPS, to the meeting to present the CfPS annual report for 2016/17.

Lord Kerslake presented the report and highlighted that CfPS had undergone a lot of change at both Board and Executive level over the year, but the core of the work in supporting local authority scrutiny had not changed. The report set out the charity’s key areas of focus, the work delivered and outcomes achieved.  Particular reference was made to the activity around scrutiny of Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs) and their implications for local authorities, as well as work generally on health scrutiny, housing, and the role of local government in Brexit.

In the following discussion, Members endorsed the work of CfPS and asked a number of questions relating to information sharing on scrutiny in Government departments, Health and Wellbeing Boards, and the importance of scrutiny being collaborative whilst still holding decision makers to account.

The Leadership Board expressed their thanks to the CfPS for their report, and for a successful year.

Decision

The LGA Leadership Board noted the annual report and the performance of CfPS in 2016/17.

Sarah Pickup, Deputy Chief Executive, introduced the report which summarised the key announcements in the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget with implications for local government, and LGA work on the Budget including the On the Day Briefing.

Members noted that a package of proposals had been announced on housing, which were intended to result in a net additional 300,000 homes built each year by 2022, including an opportunity for councils to access additional HRA borrowing from 2019/20 up to a total value of £1 billion.

In the discussion which following the following points were raised by Members:

·         It was disappointing that there had been no announcements on Adult or Children’s Social Care, measures to address the costs of implementation of the National Living Wage and changes to the bottom of the pay scale, the funding cap in council core services, and EU funding.

·         Work on the On the Day Briefing was commended, and this had led to a great deal of media activity, and the LGA’s response being quoted widely in Parliament.

·         Members stated that, as with all LGA work, any lobbying or activity around the Budget should continue to be undertaken on a cross-party basis. Lobbying on the Local Government Finance Settlement would be the focus for the organisation over the coming weeks.

·         Regarding the announcement that there could be intervention in areas where a local authority had failed to put an up-to-date local plan in place, it was confirmed that 27 local authorities did not current have a local plan.

·         The LGA would continue to state the view the local authorities should be part of the solution to the housing crisis.

Decision

The LGA Leadership Board noted the report.

Nicola Morton, Head of Local Government Finance, introduced the report which provided a progress update on the Government’s Fair Funding Review and Business Rate Retention reforms, including an update on the LGA’s work on these areas of work.

Members noted that the Government had not yet published an expected consultation on the  Fair Funding Review, however the work of the DCLG / LGA officer level technical working group had resumed, and had recently considered how to take council tax into account in the funding formula. Local Government Futures had been commissioned to develop a Children’s Social Care formula.  The Government had commissioned work on a new  Adult Social Care formula a few years ago which could form the basis of a new formula.

Regarding work on business rates retention, Members noted that the joint DCLG / local government officer Steering Group met for the first time since the General Election on 3 October 2017 and then again in December. They had considered possibilities around implementation of further business rates retention without primary legislation, and the possible timetable for this as the earliest implementation date was now 2020/21. There had been no official comment on business rates retention in the Chancellor’s Budget apart from confirming the London pilot, but there was a possibility of some further information and announcement of further pilots when the Local Government Finance Settlement was published later in December.

Decision

The LGA Leadership Board noted the updates provided in the report. 

The Senior Vice-Chair introduced the report which presented a summary of the LGA’s performance from April to September 2017.

Decision

The LGA Leadership Board reviewed and noted the LGA’s 6 month performance report.

The Senior Vice-Chair moved the report which listed the outside bodies to which the LGA appointed members for the 2017/18 meeting cycle. 

Members commented that the list of bodies should be regularly reviewed to ensure that they had an AGM and were not dormant.  

Decision

The LGA Leadership Board noted the list of outside bodies and representatives which the LGA had appointed to the 2017/18 meeting year.

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive, introduced the report which set out the LGA’s main achievements against the Business Plan priorities since the last meeting in October 2017. He drew particular attention to the recent Smith Square Debate on Brexit; the Government’s invitation to the LGA to be part of an advisory group on rough sleeping and homelessness; local government pay negotiations; and work on winter pressures in social care and health.

Decision

The LGA Leadership Board noted the Chief Executive’s report for December 2017.  

Decision

The LGA Leadership Board agreed the forward plan.

Decision

The LGA Leadership Board agreed the minutes of the previous meeting on 18 October 2017.