POLICY BRIEFING FORwww.emcouncils.gov.uk EMC MEMBERS 8 May 2015 The General and Local Elections 2015 What the General Election results mean for Local Government and Public Services in the East Midlands. East Midlands Councils in partnership with the Whitehall & Industry Group are holding an event for councillors and officers on Monday 22 June to explore the implications of today’s General Election results for local government in the East Midlands. Keynote speakers include Dr Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive of the LGIU Phillip Blond, Director of ResPublica Join in the conversation along with leaders in the public, private and voluntary sector working with or in local government. Further information is available here. The UK General and Local Elections were held on 7 May 2015. The General Election was fought across all 46 Parliamentary Constituencies in the region, with local elections held across the region’s unitary and district councils. East Midlands Councils has produced a summary of the General Election Results in the East Midlands here. Following the Conservatives gaining two seats from Labour in Corby (Tom Pursglove winning the seat from Andy Sawford) and Derby North (Amanda Solloway winning the seat from Chris Williamson) the Conservatives now hold 32 of the region’s seats and Labour hold 14. At the time of writing many of the local election results in the region were still awaited. The results known are: Boston – NOC no change; Derby – Labour hold; Lincoln – Labour hold; North West Leicestershire – Conservative hold. EMC will publish a summary of the full local election results in the region on its website next week. Housing (Officer Contact: [email protected]) New research from KPMG shows that the divergence between house prices and wages has grown so that a first time buyer in the UK would need an annual wage of £40,553 to get onto the property ladder, with the actual average annual wage in the UK standing at £22,044 (based on a 10% deposit and borrowing the remaining 90% at a loan to income ratio of 4.5). The East Midlands -wide annual wage needed is £27,273, against the actual average annual wage of £20,890, representing a gap of almost £6,400. The average house price for first time buyers used by KPMG for the research – based on ONS data – was £136,336 in the East Midlands, making the region the sixth most expensive for first time buyers behind London (£384,856), South East (£230,049), East of England (£180,331), South West (£179,204) and West Midlands (£145,394). EMC is looking at this issue in its current review into housing in the East Midlands and will present an interim report to EMC’s AGM on 17 July 2015. Planning & Transport (Officer Contact: [email protected] ) A new report by Arup and Landscape Architecture suggests that 'city ecosystems' can contribute to safer and healthier cities. Cities Alive, proposes a design approach for urban environments, promoting nature as a key driver to create a healthier, more socially cohesive and biodiverse urban environments and a connected city ecosystem for people and wildlife that also builds in resilience measures against climate change in the form of storm, flood, heat, droughts and pollution protection. New practice guidance on assessments of the demand for and supply of aggregates in mineral planning authority areas has been published to tackle inconsistencies in how the exercises are carried out. The guidance, published by the Planning Officers Society and the Mineral Products Association, is intended to provide advice on the content of Local Aggregate Assessments (LAAs) to mineral planning authorities, Aggregate Working Parties and the minerals industry. W: www.emcouncils.gov.uk E: [email protected] T: 01664 502 620 POLICY BRIEFING FORwww.emcouncils.gov.uk EMC MEMBERS 8 May 2015 Community Issues (Officer Contact: [email protected] ) A nationwide competition has been launched this week, offering £10,000 to organisations that help re-shape public services. The competition, from the Carnegie UK Trust, will assess organisations on how well they empower local communities and service users. Applications will be considered in terms of the Trust’s eight steps towards an ‘enabling state’ such as investing in disadvantaged communities and giving people help to do more. Events across the UK and the rest of Europe this weekend will commemorate the 70th anniversary of VE Day - the end of World War Two on the continent. A two-minute silence will be held at London's Cenotaph and elsewhere on Friday (8 May) and in the evening, more than 200 beacons will be lit around the UK. The BBC has details. Economic Development, Skills & Education (Officer Contact: [email protected]) One East-Midlands is holding a networking event for any organisation wishing to be involved as either a lead applicant or delivery partner in the D2N2 Building Better Opportunities programme. It follows on from the workshop on 2nd April for potential lead partners which provided information about how the next phase of the 2014-20 European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) programme is likely to work and issues that partnerships will need to consider. The presentations from this event are available here. One-East Midlands is now taking steps to bring potential lead organisations together with delivery partners in order to support the development of partnerships. To aid this process three networking sessions are being held at Erewash CVS Granville Centre, Long Eaton on the following dates: - Towards Work – supporting excluded people towards employment with particular focus on women returners, older people (55yrs plus) and young people not engaging with other programmes on 14th May (10.00am to 12.00pm). To book a place for this workshop, please click here. - Multiple & Complex Needs – supporting people with multiple barriers to economic activity on 19th May (10.00am to 12.00pm) . To book a place for this workshop, please click here. - Financial Inclusion – addressing financial barriers to employment on 27th May (10.00am to 12.00pm). To book your place for this workshop, please click here. Each session will include an opportunity to: Better understand the 2014-20 ESIF programme and the Big Lottery Fund Building Better Opportunities opt in; network and build relationships between potential lead applicants and delivery partners; understand the application process and contract requirements; and shape activity and possible delivery models. Potential lead applicant s we will be given time to present their offers to the audience and space in a ‘marketplace’ area to encourage delivery partners to make contact and find out more – please contact [email protected] if you wish to take up this opportunity. Climate Change & Sustainable Development (Officer Contact: [email protected]) To mark its success since it launched earlier this year, last week’s Local Government Chronicle (LGC) included a 12 page insert sponsored by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) on the Climate Just website. Climate Just was developed by Climate East Midlands on behalf of the JRF to help local authorities identify who is most socially vulnerable to climate impacts and why, where they are and what can be done. The article, which can be read online here, contains an introduction to climate justice by JRF’s Katharine Knox and examples of the maps that can be produced by the Climate Just map tool, along with case studies and viewpoints from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, the Town and Country Planning Association and the National Flood Forum. Dr Hugh Ellis, Head of Policy, and Kate Henderson, Chief Executive, from the Town and Country Planning Association said ‘Spatial planning is the one of the most powerful and effective tools we have in the battle to build resilience to combat climate change, yet our current system is often planning for the wrong geography over the wrong time periods, with outdated science, flawed methodologies and inadequate skills and resources.’ The Climate Just website was launched on 4th February 2015 and had over 6,000 visitors in its first two months. Its target audience includes: Spatial (Policy) Planners, Emergency Planners, Social Services Managers, Public Health Managers and Environ mental Managers. If your council would like some support in using the Climate Just tool for the benefit of your own community please contact [email protected]. A long-awaited Supreme Court judgment on air quality issued last week has made it clear that the UK is in breach of the EU Ambient Air Quality Directive. The UK Government must respond to the ruling, which has implications for highways plans and airport expansion in particular, by the end of the year. W: www.emcouncils.gov.uk E: [email protected] T: 01664 502 620 POLICY BRIEFING FORwww.emcouncils.gov.uk EMC MEMBERS 8 May 2015 EMC Events, Training & Development Planning Masterclass: The Local Authority Role in Neighbourhood Planning on 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 plan- making and decision-taking at the local level.