Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what involvement, if any, the Metro Mayors of Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region had in decisions relating to the easing of lockdown measures for COVID-19; and when they were informed of these decisions.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
There has been regular engagement between Government and the Metro Mayors of Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region during the COVID-19 emergency. This includes Ministerial calls with the Metro Mayors of Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region, as well as a call between the Prime Minister and the M9 Metro Mayors, to help inform Government’s approach to restarting the economy
A Ministerial-led Economic Recovery Working Group has also been established to provide regular engagement on Government’s restart and recovery planning, chaired by the Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government. This features four Metro Mayors including the Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Ministers are also holding a series of regional stocktakes as case-studies, including with Greater Manchester and Liverpool, to establish an understanding of local plans for restart and to enable collaboration across Government and local partners. The Mayors of Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region led the stocktakes with their respective areas.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to permit churches and other places of worship to reopen.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
On 11 May, the Government published the document (attached) “Our Plan to Rebuild”, which outlined the steps it would be taking to ease the lockdown restrictions.
The Government continues to consider how to allow places of worship to reopen for additional uses in Step 3 of its roadmap, which is expected to be no earlier 4 July, subject to further scientific advice. As part of the steps to ease the restrictions, the Government launched a Places of Worship Taskforce to look at how they can reopen and operate safely. Meetings are being led by the Secretary of State for Communities, or the Faith Minister, and comprise of representatives from the country’s major faiths. The Taskforce is working towards the safe reopening of places of worship as soon as possible. It also addresses the specific issues that places of worship will face as they prepare to reopen safely.
As of Saturday 13 June, places of worship are now permitted to open for individual prayer, in line with social distancing guidelines. We have published guidance (attached) to support places of worship to do this in a way that is safe and in line with social distancing. Communal prayers, worship or devotion will not be possible at this stage. The Government will continue to work with the Taskforce towards the full reopening of places of worship as soon as the scientific advice allows.
Places of worship play an important role in spiritual and mental health for many, and in bringing our communities together, which is why we want them to reopen them as soon as we can. However, no place of worship will be able to reopen for further activities before a final decision by the Government and the accompanying changes to the legal position in the published regulations. Even after we permit places of worship to reopen for further activities, some may choose to reopen in stages or at a slower pace depending on their local circumstances.
The current list of permitted activities that can take place within a place of worship can be found (attached) on gov.uk here, and the associated regulations can be found here. These documents will be updated as and when further changes come into effect.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to (1) enabling alternative arrangements for the collection of signatures, and (2) extending the permitted timescale, for a city mayor referendum petition.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
In response to the Coronavirus pandemic the Government has made the?Local Government?and Police?and Crime Commissioner (Coronavirus)?(Postponement?of Elections?and Referendums) (England And Wales) Regulations 2020 which provide in relation to a city mayor referendum petition that:
The Regulations also provide that any governance referendum, including a city mayor referendum, scheduled between 16 March 2020 and 5 May 2021 must be postponed to take place on 6 May 2021. The Regulations can be found (attached) at ? https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/395/regulation/12/made
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the consequences when auditors fail to sign off a district council's annual budget.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
A council's annual budget is signed off by a meeting of the full council as presented by its chief finance or Section 151 Officer. An auditor does not generally have a role to play in this process. However, the auditor issues an opinion on ie ‘signs off’ a council’s year-end financial statements. This opinion may be unmodified or, where an auditor has identified significant issues, they may give a modified opinion. Auditors also have powers to issue an advisory notice or a public interest report. Local authorities are accountable to their electorate.
It is a legal requirement for a council’s accounts to be signed off by the external auditor, however as the auditor must be satisfied with the accounts before doing so, there is not a specific timescale within which they must give their opinion or other specific consequences of a failure to sign off the accounts. Recently there has been a significant increase in the number of council accounts that remain outstanding. As at 31 May 2020, the 2018/19 accounts of 57 councils had not been signed off.
To help address the audit delay issue, we commissioned the independent Redmond review to review arrangements supporting the transparency and quality of local authority financial reporting and external audit within the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. The Review is due to report later this year. We also recognise the pressures councils - and auditors - are under in the context of Covid-19 and have therefore extended the deadlines for them to publish their draft and final accounts in 2019/20 to 1 September and 30 November 2020 respectively.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what planning requirements apply to the installation of telegraph poles outside homes.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Proposals for new telecommunications infrastructure require planning permission, either through nationally set permitted development rights or through a planning application to the local planning authority. In England, telecommunications operators are able to install new ground-based infrastructure such as telegraph poles and mobile masts under permitted development rights, subject to various size limits. These rights are subject to a prior approval process (except for infrastructure relating to fixed-line broadband) under which the local planning authority can consider the proposed siting and appearance of the infrastructure. Infrastructure not covered by permitted development rights will require full planning permission, and are assessed against a range of planning criteria as well as policies set out in an adopted development plan, such as a Local Plan and Neighbourhood Plan.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what requirements they place on local authorities when appointing the chairs of companies wholly owned by a local authority.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Department does not place any requirements on local authorities in the appointment of chairs of local housing companies. This includes consideration of the most appropriate structure and governance arrangements.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what requirements they place on local councils setting up companies to take on the role of particular local services.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The general power of competence provisions set out in the Localism Act 2011 build on existing powers to charge and to trade. If a local authority wishes to trade for a commercial purpose, this must be carried out through a company to ensure that it does not have an unfair tax advantage over business. Local authorities can choose to deliver local services through companies provided that they assure themselves that doing so delivers best value to local residents. Local authorities, like other bodies, are subject to and must abide by competition law and it is their responsibility to ensure they comply with the requirements of state aid, competition and procurement law.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 20 February (HL5546), what steps may be taken when a city mayor has abolished an overview and scrutiny committee.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Principal councils in England are required by statute to have at least one overview and scrutiny committee.
Any concerns about the legality of a council’s actions should first be addressed to the council’s Monitoring Officer who is responsible for ensuring the authority complies with its legal obligations. Councils not complying with their statutory obligations can be challenged by way of judicial review.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 7 February (HL5255), what checks and balances they have put in place to ensure that the actions of directly elected city mayors, other than mayors of the combined authorities, are subject to proper and impartial scrutiny, particularly in cases where the mayor has abolished the Scrutiny Committee.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Local authority overview and scrutiny committees have powers to investigate executives’ policies and their implementation, call in decisions that have been made but not yet implemented, issue reports and draw attention to shortcomings. The Local Government Act 2000 sets out the statutory scrutiny provisions for principal councils operating executive arrangements. These councils are required to have at least one overview and scrutiny committee.
Current legislation recognises that councils have different local needs and circumstances, and different ways of delivering services, and so is deliberately non-prescriptive to allow for bespoke local arrangements.
Overview and scrutiny arrangements are just one element of the wider accountability framework for local government. The other key elements include: independent audit, complaints handling and whistleblowing procedures, statutory officers, transparency of information and meetings, and local media.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what checks and balances they have put in place to ensure that the actions of elected city mayors are subject to proper and impartial scrutiny.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Effective scrutiny of elected city region mayors is essential for ensuring that these mayors are that single point of accountability which underpins the devolution deals Government has entered in to with those city regions. Mayoral combined authorities are subject to the local authority accountability, audit and propriety regimes which we have strengthened by the Combined Authorities (Overview and Scrutiny Committees, Access to Information and Audit Committees) Order 2017, which Parliament has approved and which we developed with assistance from the Centre for Public Scrutiny and the National Audit Office. This Order makes special provisions about the establishment and operation of overview and scrutiny committees and audit committees in order that mayors, who are required to appear before an overview and scrutiny committee when requested, can robustly be held to account.