Big Local Issues Discussed at the LGA

Today, I was in London at the LGA (Local Government Assocation) along with other Liberal Democrat group leaders to meet with the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and then with Andrew Stunnell MP, the Local Government Minister.   We were able to have a discussion about local challenges in our councils and how to tackle them.  Nick Clegg was grilled about a whole range of issues from council tax benefits to academies, how the pupil premium was working and about the local government financial settlement.

Later, we had a discussion with Andrew Stunell about the draft National Planning Policy Framework and what this will mean for all of us.  It is expected that this new guidance will be brought into place in about 18 months time, but in the meantime there were concerns about the transitional arrangements and what will happen to current local plans. 

I asked a question about infrastructure and how the new Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and the New Homes Bonus will work alongside the current Section 106 agreements (legal planning conditions), especially when the money coming from government is split into 80% towards the district councils and only 20% towards the county councils who provide most of the infrastructure like roads, schools, libraries etc.  I was told that this split of funding was going to be looked into, but was assured that the money raised should be spent in the areas where the housing development is taking place.  The affordable housing obligations of developers was less certain, as it was clear that during these difficult times, profit margins are not so great and this meant less money available. This also brought into question the viability of some housing sites.  It was quite interesting to hear about other areas in the country with similar situations to Grove and Wantage.