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POLICY BRIEFING FORwww.emcouncils.gov.uk
EMC MEMBERS
15 May 2015
Election Update
EMC Events for Councillors
Mentoring for Mentees and Mentoring for Mentors – 19
June 2015 (AM+PM). EMC is holding two half day
workshops for Councillors on Mentoring. The first session will
explain mentoring and the role of mentors in supporting
newly elected Councillors or Councillors experiencing a new
role. The afternoon session is designed to support
Councillors interested in being a Mentor. Click here for
details of the morning session and here for details of the
afternoon session.
The Shape of Local Government and Public Services
Post-Election - What the General Election results mean for
Local Government and Public Services in the East Midlands.
An event hosted by EMC and the Whitehall & Industry
Group, for councillors and officers on Monday 22 June.
Further information is available here.
The UK General and Local Elections were fought across the region's 40 unitary and district councils and 46 Parliamentary
Constituencies in the East Midlands on 7 May 2015. The key results, regional political balance and government
appointments for the East Midlands region are detailed below:
Local Election Results: 26 of the 40 unitary and district councils in the region are now under Conservative control;
including 1 gain from Labour (Amber Valley), 1 gain from the Liberal Democrats (High Peak) and 4 gains from NOC
(Broxtowe, East Lindsey, High Peak, Newark & Sherwood); 12 councils are Labour controlled, 1 is under Liberal Democrat
control (Oadby & Wigston) and 1 remains under NOC (Boston). EMC has detailed the full Local Election results for the
East Midlands here.
Regional Political Balance: As a result of the local elections, the political balance in the region has changed. The
Conservative Party is now the largest group determined on the basis of political proportionality; Conservatives 43.0%;
Labour 41.3%; Liberal Democrats 7.7%; Independents, UKIP and others 8.0%. A more detailed breakdown of the region’s
political balance is available on request from [email protected].
General Election Results: Following the change of seats in Corby and Derby North the Conservatives now hold 32 seats
and Labour 14 (previously the Conservatives held 30 seats, and Labour 16). A full list of elected MPs in the region is
available here.
Key Parliamentary Appointments (East Midlands): Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) - Secretary of State for Education
and Minister for Women and Equalities; Baroness Stowell of Beeston - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal;
Patrick McLoughlin (Derbyshire Dales) - Secretary of State for Transport; Anna Soubry (Broxtowe) - Minister for Small
Business. Non-cabinet positions include: John Hayes (South Holland and The Deepings) - Minister of State for Security at
the Home Office; Nick Boles (Grantham and Stamford) - Minister of State at the Department for Education and the
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with additional responsibility for trade union and employment law; and
Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) - Minister of State at the Department for Energy and Climate Change.
Free Event: The Shape of Local Government and Public Services Post-Election, Monday 22nd June, Nottingham.
East Midlands Councils and the Whitehall & Industry Group are organising an event for Council Leaders, Chief Executives
and wider private and public sector partners from across the region on what the outcomes of the General Election Mean for
Local Government and Public Services. The conference will be an opportunity to hear from Jonathan Carr-West, Chief
Executive of LGiU, Phillip Blond, Director at ResPublica and Andy Mahon, Partner at BDO and local council
leaders, who will explore some of the outcomes of the General Election and what it means for local government and public
services, including finance and devolution. For more information about this event and how to register for a place please
click here.
W: www.emcouncils.gov.uk E: [email protected] T: 01664 502 620
POLICY BRIEFING FORwww.emcouncils.gov.uk
EMC MEMBERS
15 May 2015
Economic Development, Skills & Education (Officer Contact: [email protected])
Unemployment figures for April 2015 were released on 13 May. When seasonally adjusted, the national claimant count
reduced by 1.6% over the past month, matched by a 1.6% reduction in the East Midlands, the fourth highest fall of the
English regions (which elsewhere fell by between 0.8% in the South West to 3.5% in the North West). The unadjusted
claimant count across DWP’s Central England Group fell by 3.3% over the past month, with ‘Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire
& Rutland’ showing a reduction of 997 claimants (-3.8%) and ‘Leicestershire & Northamptonshire’ showing a reduction of
427 (-2.4%). Details are available from ONS.
Planning & Transport (Officer Contact: [email protected])
Between now and the end of March 2016, EMC’s Director of Policy & Infrastructure, Andrew Pritchard, will be working part of
the week for the LGA’s Planning Advisory Service (PAS) as Principal Consultant for the East and West Midlands.
Andrew will be the main point of contact for PAS across the Midlands and will also lead on the ‘duty to co-operate’ issues. For
an informal conversation on how PAS could help your council, please contact [email protected]. Andrew will
continue to lead on HS2, Midlands Connect and the Housing Review for EMC. For further information on these issues please
contact [email protected].
Chancellor George Osborne has offered cities more power over housing, planning and transport, if they agree to be governed
by a directly elected mayor. Speaking in Manchester, in his first speech since the election, Mr Osborne has unveiled details of
the Cities Devolution Bill, which will be contained in the Queen’s speech later this month.
Employers’ Issues (Officer Contact: [email protected])
CEEP UK News Alert - 8 May 2015 - CEEP UK’s newsletters provide an update on recent developments at
European level which are of interest to the public sector. The 8 May newsletter can be downloaded here. It contains a
range of articles including: Meetings of the CEEP General Assembly and Chairs, Vice-Chairs and General Rapporteurs of
the Boards and Task Forces; Directive on Remedies in Public Procurement: EU public consultation; CEEP Water Task
Force: Workshop on Drinking Water Directive review; and Briefing on 2015 calls for proposals under the EU's Employment
and Social Innovation (EaSl) Funding programme.
Local Government Policy (Officer Contact: [email protected])
The Prime Minister has announced that Greg Clark, formerly minister for universities, science and cities, replaces Eric
Pickles as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). Brandon Lewis (planning & housing
brief) and Mark Francois are appointed ministers of state at DCLG, with Marcus Jones (local government brief), James
Wharton and Baroness Williams of Trafford all appointed DCLG parliamentary under secretaries of state. A full list of
government ministers is available here. See feature article for a list of government appointments from the region.
The Cabinet Office will attend the next East Midlands Government Warning, Advice and Reporting Point (EMGWARP)
Network - a network of IT Security officers from across the East Midlands – when it meets on 2 July, to provide an update on
the revised Public Services Network (PSN) Compliance Process and share the work the PSN team has been doing to
develop the new compliance process, including how it's changed and how the new process operates. This will help councils
understand the new process and give them an opportunity to ask questions so they can be better informed when it comes to
using the new process. Further details on the EMGWARP Network can be found by clicking here.
DCLG has published details of grants to compensate local authorities for freezing or reducing their Council Tax in 2015 to
2016. Local authorities are eligible for a freeze grant in 2015 to 2016 if their average Band D Council Tax (excluding parish
precepts) in 2015 to 2016 is less than or equal to their average Band D Council Tax (excluding parish precepts) in 2014 to
2015.
The LGA’s relaunched shared services map reveals councils saved £105m from shared service arrangements since last
year, in addition to the £357m already saved since the map was first compiled in 2012. The map highlights 70 shared service
arrangements in the East Midlands.
The Government has published the terms under which the Home Office will make funding available to local authorities in
respect to their costs of supporting Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) during the financial year 1 April
2015 to 31 March 2016. Further details are available here.
W: www.emcouncils.gov.uk E: [email protected] T: 01664 502 620
POLICY BRIEFING FORwww.emcouncils.gov.uk
EMC MEMBERS
15 May 2015
Climate Change & Sustainable Development (Officer Contact: [email protected])
Climate East Midlands, part of East Midlands Councils, has welcomed the recent news from the Renewable Energy
Association (REA) that employment in the renewable energy sector is growing rapidly, with the East Midlands being
one of the areas with highest growth. Renewable energy generation also increased by 20% last year (according to PWC
research for the REA), with total investment in the sector up to £40bn since 2010, and £4.5bn of investment going into
solar last year. However, the challenge ahead is still significant, with a Government target of 15% of UK energy to be
produced from renewable sources by 2020, requiring an estimated further £50bn over the next five years.
The appointment of Amber Rudd MP as the new Energy Secretary has been greeted positively by the renewable
energy industry and the environment sector. She has spoken about the need for a strong global agreement to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions at the forthcoming UN Climate Change summit in Paris in December and believes that climate
science is ‘compelling’.
EMC Events, Training & Development
East Midlands Coaching Conference 2015 – 3 June 2015. East Midlands Councils is holding its third annual Coaching
Conference on Wednesday 3 June 2015. The event will feature a keynote session delivered by Lis Merrick, as well as
providing a range of stimulating and participatory workshop sessions that will explore techniques you can use during your
coaching practice. Details are available here.
Working with ‘difficult’ Coachees - Coaching CPD session – 16 September 2015. The East Midlands Coaching
Network is holding a very practical CPD session for Coaches on 16 September 2015 in Melton Mowbray. Details are
available here.
Scrutiny and Effective Challenge – 17 September 2015. East Midlands Councils is holding a half day event for
Councillors and Officers who have recently become involved in scrutiny. It has been tailored to provide those new to
scrutiny with a robust grounding in key aspects of how the function works. 'Scrutiny fundamentals' will be reviewed,
including the legislative basis of the function, key roles, scrutiny structures and processes, capturing the added value and
ensuring scrutiny 'makes a difference'. Details are available here.
Planning Masterclass: The Local Authority Role in Neighbourhood Planning - 29 September 2015. East Midlands
Councils is holding a one day Planning Masterclass for local authority officers to provide advice on supporting local
communities to prepare their Neighbourhood Plans. Details are available here.
Planning Masterclass: Planning our Future Town Centres – 30 October 2015. East Midlands Councils is holding a one
day Planning Masterclass for local authority officers on key retail planning and town centre issues to help inform both planmaking and decision-taking at the local level. Details are available here.
EMC Leadership
Chair: Cllr Jon Collins [email protected]
Vice Chair: Cllr Martin Hill OBE [email protected]
Click on our Twitter &
YouTube accounts for
further information.
Vice Chair: Cllr Neil Clarke MBE [email protected]
Conservative Group: Cllr Chris Millar [email protected]
East Midlands Councils
Labour Group: Cllr Robert Parker [email protected]
First Floor Offices, South Annexe
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Nottingham Road
Melton Mowbray
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Lib Dem Group: Cllr Fiona Martin MBE [email protected]
Independent Group: tba
Executive Director: Stuart Young [email protected]
W: www.emcouncils.gov.uk E: [email protected] T: 01664 502 620