Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (Corporate Joint Committees) (Consequential Amendments) Order 2023

Tuesday 28th March 2023 Grand Committee

Considered in Grand Committee

17:57

Moved by

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (Corporate Joint Committees) (Consequential Amendments) Order 2023.

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

My Lords, the draft order we are considering will make changes to UK legislation arising from the establishment of corporate joint committees in Wales, under powers in the Senedd’s Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021. The 2021 Act established a new framework for regional collaboration between local authorities in Wales called corporate joint committees—CJCs. I am aware that the noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox—who is the only other Member here in Committee—was an architect of these very structures, as leader of the Welsh Local Government Association.

For the benefit of Hansard, and the others here present, these committees can exercise functions transferred from principal councils on a regional basis. They can be established either at the request of two or more principal councils or, in relation to some functions, at the instigation of Welsh Ministers.

The Welsh Government have established four CJCs in Wales—north Wales, mid-Wales, south-east Wales and south-west Wales—reflecting the four existing city and growth deal areas. Each CJC is comprised of the leaders of its constituent county and county borough councils, and eligible officeholders from national park authorities located in that CJC area. As a corporate body, a CJC is able to directly employ staff, hold assets and manage budgets.

The CJCs began operating formally on 1 April 2021. From June last year, they came under duties to prepare strategic development plans and regional transport plans in their regions. They also have the power to do anything to enhance or promote the economic well-being of their areas. As CJCs further develop, Welsh Ministers may decide to increase their functions in future through regulations, although the Welsh Government have said that there are no current plans to do so.

18:00

This order will put CJCs on the same footing as local authorities in Wales in several respects. In particular, the order deals with most fiscal and employment matters related to CJCs, except for VAT. HM Treasury made an order separately to admit the four CJCs into the VAT refund scheme from 9 February.

Article 2 of the order adds CJCs to the definition of “local authorities” within paragraph 1(1)(a) of Schedule 4 to the National Loans Act 1968. This will extend the existing power of HM Treasury to provide loans to CJCs, as it can to local authorities at present. Section 119 of the Local Government Act 1972 provides that, in the event of the death of an officer of a local authority, money owing to their estate from the local authority can be paid to personal representatives of the estate of the deceased. Article 3 clarifies that references to a local authority within this section include a CJC. Articles 4 and 5 provide that CJCs are to be treated the same as local authorities in respect of tax on their income, the taxation of chargeable gains, and corporation tax.

The Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government, etc.) (Modification) Order 1999 modifies certain provisions of the Employment Rights Act 1996 concerning redundancy payments for persons employed by certain local government employers or other employers in related sectors. The amendments provided by Article 6 of the order before us ensure that CJC employees have the same rights as principal council staff in respect of any redundancy payments.

Finally, Article 7 adds the four CJCs to the list of scheduled employers in Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013 and sets out in Part 2 of Schedule 3 to those regulations which Local Government Pension Scheme administrating authorities will apply to the individual CJCs to ensure that their employees are automatically admitted to the pension scheme.

The four city and growth deals have demonstrated the benefits of breaking down local administrative barriers and taking a wider, regional approach to delivering jobs and economic growth. They are delivering for their areas, from the Pentre Awel project in Llanelli to the digital signal processing centre at Bangor University. Some regions are already exploring the case for embedding their city and growth deal work within their CJC.

I trust that the Welsh regions will also benefit from the strategic, more joined-up approach to land use and transport planning that the CJCs will provide. I beg to move.

[Baroness Wilcox of Newport (Lab)]

My Lords, I have great pleasure in speaking on behalf of the Opposition regarding this statutory instrument and thank the Minister for her kind words. When I was leader of the Welsh Local Government Association, I spent a great deal of time in discussion with Welsh Government Ministers over this change to current legislation to ensure that it resulted in the best fit for local authorities to enable effective joint working on specific projects to benefit the people of Wales. Therefore, it gives me immense pleasure, in my current role in your Lordships’ House, to be the Member who speaks for the Labour Party with this legislation as it proceeds into law. One does not often see something through its entire process in political life, but this is one of those rare occasions, and I am delighted to be able to do so.

Let me give some appropriate context. We began discussing these changes in detail during 2018. Initial reservations and relevant concerns were raised by council leaders, but through careful consideration and adjustments from the Welsh Government and local government, a suitable agreement was finally reached. In legislative terms, the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 provided for the establishment of corporate joint committees, which enable and support the delivery of important local government functions regionally. A small number of outstanding technical issues emerged during the implementation of the CJCs, including their relation to taxation status and pensions. As your Lordships are aware, when issues arising from Senedd legislation require amendment of UK-wide legislation in a way that is beyond the Senedd’s legislative competence, an order under Section 150—power to make consequential provision—of the Government of Wales Act 2006, can be developed in partnership with the UK Government in Westminster.

These changes will resolve key operational issues that CJCs have raised and allow them to plan with confidence in future financial years. Section 150 supports the delivery of the commitment in the Welsh Government’s programme for government to ensure that each region in Wales—north, south, east and west—has effective and democratically accountable means of developing its economy. The Welsh Government, in liaison with local government, have established CJCs to support and encourage regional working through a coherent, consistent, simplified and democratically accountable and controlled mechanism.

CJCs will allow local government partners to deliver their regional ambitions, develop successful regional economies, and ensure local growth in a collaborative and strategic way. As the order has been developed with the Welsh Government, and makes technical amendments that result in a coherent, democratically controlled mechanism that operates regionally, we fully support it. Diolch yn fawr.

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

I thank the noble Baroness for her supportive comments. I too am delighted to take part in this move to unblock the UK legislation to allow the Welsh Government to progress these exciting plans. I close by offering my thanks for the productive manner in which the UK and Welsh Governments have worked in preparing this order, which I commend to the Committee.

Motion agreed.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall) (Lab)]

My Lords, I think that may be the fastest passing of a statutory instrument that I have yet witnessed.

Committee adjourned at 6.06 pm.