Key Facts

• The Bill aims to increase public domestic research and development spending outside the greater south-east area by a third over the spending review period.
• Innovation Greater Manchester and Innovation West Midlands are organizations focused on driving innovation and economic prosperity in their respective regions.
• Laura Shoaf emphasizes that devolution must reflect democracy and accountability in each place.
• The Bill aims to strengthen CPO powers and create high street rental auctions.
• The model of having a Mayor has been in place since 2017, following the creation of the first combined authority in 2010.
• There is concern about local authorities' capacity to take advantage of new powers effectively.
• The Local Government Association recognised that 448 different grants were paid to councils in 2020.
• MPs are focused on skills development, transport, housing retrofit, digital inclusion, and the need for more stable funding frameworks.
• There is a desire for multi-year local authority funding settlement and sustainable funding for social infrastructure issues.
• Section 106 is less effective in northern parts of the country due to high remediation costs on brownfield sites.
• The brownfield land fund has helped unlock development but may not be sufficient for affordable housing provision.
• Ancoats regeneration project in Manchester took 15 years with initial public investment and subsequent private sector involvement.
• The infrastructure levy is welcomed as it is extracted once value has been created.
• There are concerns about delays in income from the levy affecting funding for initial infrastructure.
• Viability assessments being made public helps to bring transparency and clarity to value early on.
• The Levelling-up White Paper mentions £250 billion-worth of spend.
• Clauses 43 and 45 grant the Secretary of State new powers to impose governance changes unilaterally, with public consultation.
• Professor Atherton's research found over 120 different policy targets or policies mentioned in the White Paper.
• There is skepticism about the Bill's ability to achieve health outcomes similar to the significant investment in east Germany post-1990.
• Neighbourhood share allows 25% of the infrastructure levy to be controlled by parish councils or neighbourhood planning forums, but this applies predominantly in wealthy and rural areas.
• The Wharton Trust in Hartlepool is mentioned as an example of a community anchor organisation.
• The Institute of Economic Affairs has described the missions as being of “dubious quality”.
• Some missions are considered excellent while others are narrow, vague, or too easy to achieve.
• Political accountability through parliamentary reporting is welcomed but seen as insufficient without independent scrutiny.
• Neighbourhood priority statements allow communities to set out their priorities clearly.
• Community anchor organisations are more likely to be found in deprived areas.
• The Government’s pledge to bring forward community covenants is seen as a game changer.
• Sacha Bedding mentions that bus services stop running at 6 pm in Hartlepool.
• The Tees Valley metro system is proposed to connect areas currently taking an hour by car within 15 minutes.
• Public transport use in the north-east is significantly higher than other parts of the country due to low car ownership.
• The levelling-up framework sets out levels 1, 2, and 3 for devolved powers within nine vanguard areas.
• District councils are being more ambitious than county and unitary councils in some areas.
• Localities need opportunities to collaborate on strategic planning, housing challenges, inward investment, and business support.
• There is a shortage of planning officers due to higher salaries offered by the private sector.
• District councils need capital support in the Bill to upgrade software and hardware for digitalisation.
• The Bill aims to simplify the process of developing local plans, with currently only 39% of England covered by them.
• Welcomes the simplification of the community infrastructure levy.
• Developers often use viability as an excuse to increase profits.
• Developments of fewer than 10 houses do not pay anything under the current system.
• The Bill aims to enable every part of the country to have devolution, not just cities.
• Cllr Jamieson welcomes the ambition for everywhere to have a devolution deal.
• He stresses that devolution should be led by local leaders and not by restructuring from Whitehall.
• Local authorities have seen positive impacts from taxing second homes for council tax purposes.
• Airbnb properties can remove rental properties from the market, creating challenges related to antisocial behavior and fluid community dynamics.
• Landlords face regulatory changes which may impact their willingness to operate in certain markets.
• There is a concern about the high cost of housing affecting workforce availability in areas like Cornwall.
• The meeting is adjourned till Thursday 23 June at half-past Eleven o'clock.