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2:14 PM 11th May 2021
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LGA: Councils Respond To The Queen’s Speech

 
Image by timajo from Pixabay
Image by timajo from Pixabay
Responding to the Queen’s Speech, Cllr James Jamieson, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said:

“Councils know their local areas best and stand ready to help lead efforts to ensure the new legislative agenda set out in today’s Queen’s Speech – including around planning, jobs, health and care reform, environment, climate change and building safety - is transformational and delivers meaningful, positive change for people and communities.

“We are pleased that proposals on social care reform will be brought forward but we urgently need a clear timeline. It is vital that this is also urgently converted into concrete funding proposals to provide sustainable support to people of all ages across the country who draw on social care to live the life they want to lead. We are keen to work with Government and other stakeholders on a cross party basis to achieve this. We cannot keep kicking this can down the road.

“The LGA and councils look forward to working closely with the Government to help deliver on its commitment to level up powers and invest in local areas across all parts of the country. With the right funding and freedoms, councils will play a leading role in the country’s recovery from the pandemic, driving improvements in public health, boosting local economic growth, reviving town and city centres, building more homes, improving our roads and equipping people with the skills they need to succeed so no one is left behind.”

Responding to the announcement of a Planning Bill in the Queen’s Speech, Cllr David Renard, Local Government Association planning spokesperson, said:

“Councils want to work with government to reform and strengthen our planning system, ensuring it is locally-led, and that communities are able to shape their local areas, have their say on new developments in their neighbourhoods, and see they are supported by the right infrastructure. We also back measures to enhance public participation through a more digital service.

“However the evidence shows that planning is not the barrier to house-building. Councils are granting permission for 9 in 10 planning applications while over 1.1 million homes given planning permission in the past decade are yet to be built. Local plans are also not holding up the building of new housing, with more than a million homes on land earmarked for development by councils yet to be brought forward by developers for planning permission.

“This is why councils need powers to incentivise developers to get building where houses are needed, and ensure there is a mix of homes – to rent and buy – that are available and affordable to people that need them.

“To tackle the housing crisis, reduce homelessness and meet the Government’s target of building 300,000 new homes a year, councils also need to be given the powers to get building homes not seen on a scale since the 1970s when they built over 40 per cent of new housing. This is backed by Parliamentarians with eight in 10 MPs (80 per cent) we surveyed saying councils should have more financial freedoms and powers to build homes in their area.”