Legislation

The Localism Act has now received royal assent, having completed its passage through Parliament earlier this week.
 
The new legislation gives additional rights and powers to communities and individuals, including:

• making it easier for people to take over local assets like shops and pubs (through the community right to bid)
• giving local groups the right to express an interest in taking over the running of a local authority service (the community right to challenge)
• enabling local residents to call local authorities to account for the management of taxpayers’ money

Read more.

The Department of Health have recently launched a ‘Listening Exercise’ to gather comments on the Health and Social Care Bill.

An NHS Future Forum has been established to oversee this process and drive engagement with NHS staff, patients and communities.

We have submitted our responses to the consultations on the new community rights measures: Right to Buy (PDF 109 KB) and Right to Challenge (PDF 72 KB).

Under the proposals announced by the Department for Communities and Local Government in December, communities will be given powerful new rights to challenge the running of public services and take over buildings and land. 

We have been given permission to intervene in the judicial review proceedings brought by the Independent Schools Council, which centre upon what charities charging high fees must do in order to meet the public benefit requirement.

The Finance Bill, currently going through Parliament, is due to increase the rate of Value Added Tax to 20% from 4 January 2011. 

An amendment has been tabled by the Labour party to exempt charities non-business activities from the rise in the standard rate. We are calling on MPs from across the political spectrum to support this amendment. This will be voted on by MPs tomorrow evening. According to figures produced by the Charity Tax Group increasing VAT from 17.5% to 20% will cost the sector £143 million in irrecoverable VAT.

Tackling Britain's budget deficit and returning the country to economic growth are to be the Liberal Conservative coalition government's priorities according to the first Queen's Speech of the new administration.

Her Majesty also said that there would be major overhauls for Britain's political system, welfare state, schools and police.

Prime Minister David Cameron hopes to bring 22 Bills before Parliament over the next 18 months.

The Government has been challenged to reveal the true cost to charities of a proposed new music licence.

The Building Stronger Communities Taskforce has published its recommendations to Government, the private and the VCS, to help support communities in England at particular risk of fracture due to the downturn.

Many councils have now submitted proposals to government for action to help communities under the new Sustainable Communities Act.