Draft Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (Corporate Joint Committees) (Consequential Amendments) Order 2023
(1 year, 9 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Dr James Davies)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (Corporate Joint Committees) (Consequential Amendments) Order 2023.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. The draft order will make changes to UK legislation following the establishment of corporate joint committees in Wales under powers in the Senedd’s Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021. That Act established a new framework for regional collaboration between local authorities in Wales on bodies called corporate joint committees. It is fair to say that there has been a mixed reaction to them, but the concept behind them is that they can exercise functions regionally that have been transferred from principal councils. They can be established at the request of two or more principal councils or, in relation to some functions, at the instigation of Welsh Ministers.
The Welsh Government have established four CJCs—North Wales, Mid Wales, South East Wales and South West Wales—reflecting the four city and growth deal areas. Each CJC comprises the leaders of its constituent county and county borough councils, and eligible office holders from national park authorities in the CJC area. As corporate bodies, CJCs are able to employ staff directly, hold assets, and manage budgets. CJCs formally began operating on 1 April 2021. From June of last year, they came under a duty to prepare strategic development plans and regional transport plans for their region. They have the power to do anything to enhance or promote the economic wellbeing of their area. As CJCs develop, Welsh Ministers may decide to increase their functions through regulations, although the Welsh Government have said that there are no plans to do so.
This order will put CJCs on the same footing as local authorities in Wales in a number of respects. In particular, the order deals with most fiscal and employment matters relating to CJCs, with the exception of VAT. His Majesty’s Treasury made a separate order admitting the four CJCs into the VAT refund scheme from 9 February. Article 2 of the order adds CJCs to the definition of “local authority” in paragraph 1(2)(a) of schedule 4 to the National Loans Act 1968. That will allow the Treasury to provide loans to CJCs, just as it can to local authorities. Section 119 of the Local Government Act 1972 provides that in the event of the death of a local authority officer, moneys owing to their estate from the local authority can be paid to personal representatives of the estate of the deceased. Article 3 of the order clarifies that the term “local authority” in section 119 covers a CJC.
Articles 4 and 5 of the order provide that CJCs are to be treated in the same way as local authorities in respect of tax on their income, the taxation of chargeable gains, and corporation tax. The Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government, etc.) (Modification) Order 1999 modifies certain provisions of the Employment Rights Act 1996 concerning redundancy payments for persons employed by certain local government employers and other employers in related sectors. Article 6 of the order ensures that CJC employees have the same rights as principal council staff in respect of any redundancy payments.
Finally, article 7 adds the four CJCs to the list of scheduled employers in part 1 of schedule 2 to the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013, and sets out in part 2 of schedule 3 to those regulations which local Government pension scheme administrating authorities will apply to CJCs. This will ensure that CJC employees are automatically admitted to a pension scheme.
The four city and growth deals have demonstrated the benefits of breaking down local administrative barriers and taking a wider regional approach to delivering jobs and economic growth. They are delivering for their areas through initiatives such as the Pentre Awel project in Llanelli and the digital signal processing centre at Bangor University. Indeed, some regions are already exploring the case for embedding their city and growth deal work in their CJC. I trust that the Welsh regions will benefit from the strategic, more joined-up approach to land use and transport planning that the CJCs will provide. I commend the order to the Committee.
Gerald Jones (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. As the Minister has outlined, the order allows for technical amendments. The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 provided for the establishment of corporate joint committees, which enable and support the delivery of important local government functions regionally. A small number of outstanding technical issues emerged during implementation of the CJCs, including in relation to taxation status and pensions.
When issues arising from Senedd legislation require amendment of UK-wide legislation in a way that is beyond the Senedd’s legislative competence, an order under section 150—“Power to make consequential provision”—of the Government of Wales Act 2006 can be developed in partnership with the Government in Westminster. The changes will resolve key operational issues that CJCs have raised, and allow them to plan with confidence for future financial years.
Section 150 supports the delivery of the commitment in the Welsh Government’s programme for government to ensure that each region in Wales has effective and democratically accountable means of developing its economy. The Welsh Government have established CJCs to support and encourage regional working through a coherent, consistent, simplified and democratically controlled mechanism. CJCs will allow partners to deliver their regional ambitions, develop successful regional economies, and ensure local growth in a collaborative and strategic way. As the order has been developed with the Welsh Government, and makes technical amendments that result in a coherent, democratically controlled mechanism that operates regionally, we do not oppose it.
Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)
I would be grateful for the Minister’s clarification of a point, to aid my understanding. The explanatory notes say that CJCs
“are largely subject to the same powers and duties as principal councils in the way they operate.”
Councils, which are made up of elected representatives, are accountable to the local electorate; to whom will CJCs be accountable? How will that accountability work?
Dr Davies
I thank hon. Members for their short contributions to the debate. The order makes a number of consequential changes to UK law that are necessary to place the new corporate joint committees in Wales on the same footing as all local authorities. I welcome the comments and support of the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney. On the accountability point that my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton raised, the representatives of each constituent local authority will be accountable to the members of that local authority, and ultimately to the electorate. The Welsh Government will also oversee the performance of these bodies. Of course, this project is primarily led by the Welsh Government, so these questions are also to be directed at them.
I close by offering my thanks for the productive manner in which the UK and Welsh Governments have worked together to prepare the order, and I commend it to the Committee.
Question put and agreed to.
Draft Major Sporting Events (Income Tax Exemption) (Women’s Finalissima Football Match) Regulations 2023
(1 year, 9 months ago)
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The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Victoria Atkins)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Major Sporting Events (Income Tax Exemption) (Women’s Finalissima Football Match) Regulations 2023.
May I say what a pleasure it is to appear before you today, Mrs Murray, especially because I know that, as president of Liskeard girls football club, you have a particular interest in ensuring that we do everything we can to make the Finalissima festival, or contest, at Wembley stadium on 6 April as enjoyable as possible, and particularly that we cheer on our Lionesses? This Committee is today making footballing history by helping UEFA and its counterparts in South America to host the women’s Finalissima football match at Wembley stadium on 6 April, when the recently crowned European women’s champions—namely, our very own England Lionesses—will play their Copa América counterparts, Brazil.
This statutory instrument enables an income tax exemption for accredited overseas individuals who participate in the women’s Finalissima football match. The exemption will apply to any UK income that an accredited individual receives playing matches in the tournament or for duties and services performed in connection with the match. This is an opportunity not only for the Lionesses to showcase their talents in front of a sold-out Wembley stadium and a worldwide audience, but for us to ensure that women’s football is treated equally with men’s football—something in which we all believe. These measures very much follow the framework that was set up, for example, for the athletes and others taking part in the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic games, the UEFA men’s and women’s Euro championships in 2021 and 2022, various UEFA champions league finals, the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth games and the 2017 World Athletics championships.
The draft regulations make use of powers that were introduced in the Finance Act 2014, providing a tax exemption through secondary legislation. I hope the entire Committee gets behind this instrument: help us to help them with their tax affairs, so that the players and those who support them can concentrate on a great game of football at Wembley on 6 April.
James Murray (Ealing North) (Lab/Co-op)
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Murray. As we have heard from the Minister, the regulations seek to remove the income tax liability for accredited persons who are non-resident in the UK for performance of their duties or services in the UK in connection with the women’s—I cannot say this very well—
James Murray
Yes—hopefully Hansard will correct that for me. The Finalissima 2023 will be held here on 6 April. As the statutory instrument sets out, the tax exemption will be available from the period of 2 to 7 April. As well as being non-resident, beneficiaries of the tax relief must work for or be contracted by one of the sporting bodies, teams or clubs competing in the competition. The Opposition will not oppose the statutory instrument, as it is standard practice with world-class sporting events for the host nation to provide certain tax exemptions, not least to avoid the risk of double taxation in the UK and the home nation of the accredited person. We believe it is important that the UK is seen as an attractive place to host major cultural and sporting occasions, as it has done successfully so many times in the past.
If you will allow me, Mrs Murray, I would like to place on record how pleased I am that the competition will be hosted only a stone’s throw from my constituency. As it is only a short journey from Ealing North to Wembley stadium, I am sure that many of my constituents will be eager to attend the match. I would be grateful if the Minister could outline what measures will be taken to ensure that communities local to the competition will have a fair opportunity to purchase tickets. My constituency has another close connection with our women’s national football team: one of its players, the brilliant Chloe Kelly, was raised in Hanwell. I am so glad to be able to quote the excellent deputy leader of Ealing Council, Councillor Deirdre Costigan, who announced that Ealing Council would like to offer Chloe
“Freedom of the Borough for her amazing achievements…we want to see many more young people achieve sporting greatness like Chloe.”
I wholeheartedly echo her comments.
The Opposition will not oppose the statutory instrument, and I am sure that the Minister will join me in wishing the Lionesses every success in the upcoming match.
The Chair
In my enthusiasm to progress this instrument, I omitted to say, “The Question is that the Committee has considered the draft Major Sporting Events (Income Tax Exemption) (Women’s Finalissima Football Match) Regulations 2023.” I hope that I have now corrected the procedure, and I call Kirsty Blackman.
Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)
Thank you for chairing this Committee, Mrs Murray. It has been a while since I have been on a Delegated Legislation Committee, so it is quite nice to come to one; I say that without any measure of sarcasm at all.
I—like many people, I am sure—spend a good chunk of my Sundays standing at the side of a football pitch watching my daughter play football, so it is really good to see the women’s game being treated with parity alongside the men’s game. It is also incredibly good to hear that this game is sold out, because although we are trying to improve access to the games, we do not see stadiums as full for some women’s games as we do for the men’s. Teams like the Lionesses and the Scotland women’s team have done a great job of popularising the sport for people to watch, and it is quite nice that in Scotland people can watch a chunk of the women’s football on the excellent BBC Alba. I pitched to the BBC recently that it should keep this custom up, because it is improving access to the women’s game.
Particularly for young people playing sport, men’s football has sometimes seemed pretty inaccessible and quite far away, whereas the pathways in the women’s game are much clearer and more obvious; people can look at Scotland players and at the Lionesses and think, “I could be that one day” in a way that they may find more difficult to do with the men’s game. Like the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Ealing North, I am more than happy not to oppose this statutory instrument. It is a sensible measure and I hope the event is a big success.
The Chair
The Question is that the Committee has considered the draft Major Sporting Events (Income Tax Exemption) (Women’s Finalissima Football Match) Regulations 2023—[Interruption.] Oh, sorry; I call the Minister. I have really not got it together today.
Victoria Atkins
I hope, Mrs Murray, that Hansard reflects your energy and enthusiasm—and notes your enthusiasm for your local girls’ team.
I want to make a couple of points. First, I must of course place on record my gratitude to my very dear hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford, who does so much for football and contributes to the cause of women’s football by playing quite a lot, as I am sure others here do too.
Although I want to help the hon. Member for Ealing North, I am afraid that the popularity of the match means that it is sold out, but his local economy will benefit—everybody would expect me to bring a Treasury perspective to this debate—by about £50 million from events staged at Wembley, including this one. Wider London receives a £161 million boost from such events, and even outside London there is a further £80 million boost to our economy. I also understand that UEFA and the FA work with local councils to ensure that local communities get the best benefit and most enjoyment possible from this wonderful event.
I am extremely grateful for support from Scotland, and I am sure that on 6 April we will see exactly what the hon. Member for Aberdeen North described: a packed stadium with lots of women and girls, I hope, enjoying the match—alongside male fans as well. I really hope that the Lionesses beat the Brazilian team. I say that with great professionalism and in my ministerial capacity, and I am sure it is in line with the code of conduct; anyway, I hope the Lionesses beat them! I commend the regulations to the Committee.
The Chair
I shall now put the Question—let me have a third try at getting this right!
Question put and agreed to.