POLICY BRIEFING FORwww.emcouncils.gov.uk EMC MEMBERS 7 November 2014 Changing Nature of Flooding in the Region EMC Events for Councillors EMC Local Government/Devolution Summit – 21 November 2014. A FEW PLACES LEFT. An overview and update of current and emerging policies across the political spectrum ahead of the 2015 General Election. A fringe meeting on ‘housing after the Lyons Commission’ will be led by Malcolm Sharpe. For further details and to register click here. An Introduction to Local Government Finance – 3 December 2014. This seminar will look at the implications of these longer term trends as well as the impact of the Comprehensive Spending Review for 2015/16. Details are available here. . The Future Role of Scrutiny – 12 December 2014. A half day event for Councillors and Officers involved in scrutiny to explore the current and future role of overview and scrutiny. Details are available here. Autumn and winter 2013-14 had the heaviest rainfall since records began. The extreme conditions tested the country’s resilience to adverse weather and its consequences, causing flooding and widespread disruption. A report published by the National Audit Office this week examines the sustainability of current funding approaches for flood defences, and how flood risk management activities are managed and delivered. The NAO found that the Environment Agency has improved the cost effectiveness and prioritisation of its flood risk spending. However, Defra and the Agency have limited resources and current spending is insufficient to meet many of the maintenance needs the Agency has identified for its flood defences. The government made an extra £270 million available following the winter storms in 2013. This included an additional £35 million for asset maintenance in both 2014-15 and 2015-16. In cash terms, this has restored maintenance funding to 201011 levels. However, this represents a real terms decrease of 6 per cent between 2010-11 and 2014-15. Excluding the oneoff funding of £200 million provided following the winter floods, total funding decreased in real terms by 10 per cent in the same period. Sustaining the current standard of flood protection is challenging in this context, especially as climate change increases the load on flood defences. Download the NAO’s Strategic Flood Risk Management report which includes a case study on the Lincolnshire tidal surge. The NAO’s report is timely and the findings will be incorporated into East Midlands Councils’ Changing Nature of Flooding project. East Midlands Councils has commissioned the Met Office to undertake research and analysis to provide a sound scientific basis for the report that will be published in February. EMC has held consultative meetings with members and local authority flood officers to support the evidence base for the report, and to discuss the challenges facing Local Authorities and their partners, to help shape the report’s recommendations. If you have comments that you would like to feed into the report, please contact [email protected]. Planning & Transport (Officer Contact: [email protected]) The President of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), Cath Ranson, is visiting the East Midlands this week (6th and 7th November) as part of the RTPI Centenary year celebrations. Following visits around Leicestershire and Nottingham, including Broughton Astley to meet people involved in the development of the Neighbourhood Plan as well as the new Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester, Cath chaired a high profile Centenary Debate at Nottingham Trent University. For more information contact [email protected]. Plans for a new 'deemed discharge' measure where councils do not respond to developer requests to sign off planning conditions within a 'reasonable timescale' are to go ahead, the government has announced. People wishing to register for a self-build plot under the government's 'Right to Build' initiative would have to meet a 'local residency test', according to a Government consultation document. This follows 11 areas – including West Lindsey – piloting the scheme. The consultation closes on 18 December 2014. W: www.emcouncils.gov.uk E: [email protected] T: 01664 502 620 POLICY BRIEFING FORwww.emcouncils.gov.uk EMC MEMBERS 7 November 2014 Planning & Transport (cont.) (Officer Contact: [email protected]) EMC responds to the BBC article 'East Midlands Roads are Britain's most dangerous' published on 3 November 2014 (available here). The BBC article, which draws on the findings of the Road Safety Foundation report (which can be read in full here), contains a number of factual errors. The A537 Cat and Fiddle is always reported incorrectly - one end of the road is in Buxton, but only 750 metres is in Derbyshire; that part is very safe. The rest of the road (12 km) is in Cheshire which is the high risk part. So The A537 Cat and Fiddle route in the Peak District which was named as the most dangerous road last year isn’t in Derbyshire, or the East Midlands region. The report says that the East Midlands is the highest risk region, but it also points out that the nature of the roads has a massive influence on the risk rating method. The East Midlands has the second lowest length of motorway in England, which means more of our travel is on roads that haven’t been built to the safety standards of motorways. The West Midlands has virtually twice the level of motorway travel as the East Midlands. DCLG is consulting on proposed arrangements for the 100% local retention of business rates on shale gas and oil sites. The consultation closes on 5 December 2014. The Planning Advisory Service has published the Good Plan Making Guide to help identify the core tasks which need to be undertaken in order to develop a successful local plan. Natural England has started offering an advice service on planning proposals requiring a European protected species mitigation licence. The pre-submission screening service offers advice on planning and development proposals which might affect European protected species before formal or outline planning permission is secured. Economic Development, Skills & Education (Officer Contact: [email protected]) On the 29 October 2014 the European Commission adopted the UK Partnership Agreement which can now be viewed in full on the GOV.UK website. It sets out how the European Structural and Investment Funds will be used across the UK from 2014 to 2020. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced that the Government will not support additional business rates on supermarkets and large shops and has written to Derby City Council - the lead council making the bid under the Sustainable Communities Act - about the proposals. Peter Mucklow, National Director of Young People at the Education Funding Agency has set out the funding arrangements for the academic year 2015 to 2016 for students aged 16 to 19 and high needs students aged 16 to 25. Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire are among 30 pilot area where speciallytrained Jobcentre work coaches will join up with local authorities and voluntary sector organisations to help around 3,000 teenagers, who are not in work, education or training, to tap into local employment and training opportunities. The pilot will run for up to for 18 months. Housing (Officer Contact: [email protected]) Delivering Change: Building Homes Where We Need Them, a report by Centre for Cities, has argued that the housing crisis in the UK will only be solved in high-demand cities in the long term by considering all solutions to free up land supply. This might include, the report suggests, increasing the density of existing communities and encouraging cities and neighbouring authorities to work together. Employers’ Issues (Officer Contact: [email protected]) ACAS have produced a new guide entitled Managing bereavement in the workplace – a good practice guide. It recognises that grief impacts on the emotional, physical, spiritual and psychological well-being of the person who is bereaved and that at any time research indicates one in ten employees is likely to be affected by bereavement. It can be found here. BIS has re-issued its employer guidance on calculating the National Minimum Wage. CEEP UK News Alert - 31 October 2014 - CEEP UK’s newsletters provide an update on recent key developments at European level which are of interest to the public sector. The 31 October newsletter can be downloaded here. It includes a range of articles including: CEEP approval through written procedure; East of England - Policy Snapshot / Funding Monitor: October 2014; CEEP: Services of general interest: Task force meeting - Friday 7 November 2014; Social Europe e-newsletter: 28 October 2014. W: www.emcouncils.gov.uk E: [email protected] T: 01664 502 620 POLICY BRIEFING FORwww.emcouncils.gov.uk EMC MEMBERS 7 November 2014 Climate Change & Sustainable Development (Officer Contact: [email protected]) The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its fifth Synthesis Report on 1 November in Copenhagen. This key report is the synthesis of three major reports - on the causes, potential implications and the solutions to climate change - which have been released over the last 14 months. It is the most comprehensive scientific assessment of climate change ever undertaken and involved over 800 scientists. A trailer is also available on Youtube. Local Government Policy (Officer Contact: [email protected]) A poll on devolution commissioned by the BBC shows that some 80% of people in England support having more powers devolved to local areas. The poll also showed that 74% of people in the East Midlands support the idea of allowing only English MPs to vote on issues which affect England alone (highest rate in England). A reminder that Rural Network East Midlands (RNEM) is holding its Annual Conference at Scalford Hall, in Melton Mowbray, on 20 November 2014 between 10am – 12.45pm (followed by a networking lunch). This year’s event will focus on emerging outcomes from the independent Rural Housing Policy Review and the Defra led Rural Proofing Review. To reserve your place at this important Conference please contact [email protected]. New analysis by University College London shows that highly skilled migrant workers from the European Union have added £20 billion to Britain’s finances over a decade by paying more in taxes than they claim in benefits. The study found they were 7 per cent less likely than UK-born workers to live in social housing. The research paper also shows nonEU migration cost the public purse £120 billion over 17 years. The research supports the findings of EMC’s recent publication on ‘The Impact of International Migration in the East Midlands’. ONS has published details of workless households in the UK this week. The figures show that for the first time Nottingham had the highest proportion of households where there were no adults in work in the UK last year – overtaking Glasgow - with a total of 30.1% of households that included an adult of working age, up from 26.4% a year earlier (the comparable figure for the East Midlands was 16.1%). The increase was largely down to a rise in the number of people giving ‘sickness or disability’ as a reason for not working. Click here for a regional breakdown of the figures. EMC Events, Training & Development Executive Secretarial Skills - ONE PLACE LEFT! – 13 November 2014. East Midlands Councils is holding a one day event on Secretarial Skills for Executive Secretaries. This is a very interactive, developmental programme, with lots of opportunities to get to meet and share ideas with colleagues. The event will also provide an opportunity to analyse your own development needs and understand how to develop personally and professionally. Details are available here. Learning and Development Discussion Event - Leadership Development – 3 December 2014. East Midlands Councils is holding an event for those responsible for (or interested in) learning and development. It will focus on Leadership Development and will provide an opportunity to hear from and share experiences with others on current Leadership Development activity. The event will include a presentation on a development programme delivered by Redquadrant which will detail how the programme was developed to support Directors and Heads of Service at a unitary authority in the East Midlands. 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 Pera Business Park Nottingham Road Melton Mowbray Leicestershire LE13 0PB Lib Dem Group: Cllr Fiona Martin MBE [email protected] Independent Group: Executive Mayor Tony Egginton [email protected] Executive Director: Stuart Young [email protected] W: www.emcouncils.gov.uk E: [email protected] T: 01664 502 620