Agenda item

Mark Norris, Principal Policy Adviser, introduced the report which reflected on the six bills of interest to the SSC Board which were set out in the Queen’s Speech on 27 May.

The LGA had been calling for a Psychoactive Substances Bill since 2014, and the Chair had been interviewed in local and national press on the announcement of the Bill in the Queen’s Speech. In general the Bill set out what the LGA were asking for, but officers would continue to monitor progress, and any amendments, as it passed through both Houses.

The Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill would be considered in the first instance by the LGA Leadership Board, but the Bill had implications for policing given the possibility of combining the role of Police and Crime Commissioner with elected mayors. It was currently unclear how this would work with regard to police force boundaries and where forces worked in close cooperation, and the Board may need to consider this in more detail later in the year.

The Enterprise Bill provided an opportunity for the Board to press government to reform licensing as proposed in the ‘Rewiring Licensing’ publication, and further detail would be considered in due course.

The remaining Bills (Extremism, Investigatory Powers, and Policing and Criminal Justice) would be of interest to the Board, but in areas outside of legislation. Officers would monitor progress and forward responses to the Board if required.

The Investigatory Powers Bill would allow police and security services to access communications data they argue they need to investigate offences and bring prosecutions as more communications took place over the internet. This may lead to a debate about local authority access to communications data, and Channel 4 had recently reported on areas where councils had used data inappropriately.

In the discussion on the report, the following points were raised:

·         There should be no complacency over the Psychoactive Substances Bill, and the Board should continue to closely monitor progress.

·         The Psychoactive Substances Bill should include provision for where substances are not used in public places, and there should be provisions to ensure that the impact of the legislation once introduced was reviewed.

·         It would be useful for the Chair of the Board to meet with Chairs of other Boards on areas where work overlapped, e.g. work on CSE with the Children and Young People’s Board, as this approach had worked well in the past.

·         Local government should take an active and leading role in providing evidence for the Enterprise Bill considerations on trading standards and regulatory authorities.

·         The Board in September could take a view on the need for consideration of knife crime, and if greater penalties should be introduced to deter offenders.

·         The Fire Services Management Committee and the Fire Commission had raised cross-party opposition to the possibility of Police and Crime Commissioners having control of the fire service. The Board would have to ensure that the debate was raised, although the government were only discussing the idea currently. 

Decision

·         That the Bills in the Queen’s Speech of interest to the Board be noted.

Action

·         Bills to be kept under review by officers, and Board to be updated on progress in due course.