Local Government - What's happening - June 2024

General Election 2024 - "Not another one……"

We all know that Rishi Sunak has announced a General Election on 4 July 2024. Parliament was dissolved on 30 May and the new Parliament is expected to meet on 9 July, with a state opening on 17 July. The election announcement triggered intensive discussions between the government and opposition about how best to speed essential legislation through Parliament during a 'wash-up' period of just two sitting days. Under the constitutional principle that one Parliament cannot bind its successor, all Bills that have not received Royal Assent will fall when Parliament is dissolved. They cannot be carried over to the next term. Statutory instruments cannot be laid during dissolution, but in general, those that have already been laid do not need to be re-laid.

For Planning, PINS announced how it will deal with casework in the lead up to the General Election on 4 July 2024. They want to ensure that decisions or recommendations relating to proposals which have raised sensitivities or interest in an area cannot be deemed to have influenced the election in any constituency or across the country or have been used to electoral advantage by any interested body.

Whether a decision or recommendation should be held back until the election results have been announced will be taken by senior managers in PINS. As National Infrastructure examinations are required to comply with a statutory time limit, once the preliminary meeting has been notified and the examination timetable has been set the examination will be expected to run to the published timetable. All scheduled local plan examinations and hearing sessions will continue during the pre-election period and new examinations will begin. However, no letters will be issued regarding the soundness or legal compliance of local plans or final reports until after the election.

Artificial intelligence

The Council of the EU has formally adopted at first reading a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (AI) (Artificial Intelligence Act). The Regulation aims to improve the functioning of the internal market and promote the uptake of human-centric and trustworthy AI, while ensuring a high level of protection of health, safety, fundamental rights and the rule of law against the harmful effects of AI systems.

The focus of the Bill in the UK is to establish a framework for the regulation of AI in the UK, including placing AI regulatory principles on a statutory footing and establishing a central AI Authority to oversee the regulatory approach to AI.

The ICO published Regulating AI: The ICO's strategic approach. The ICO's approach includes:

• Provision of guidance
• Provision of advice and support
• Enforcement action
• Collaboration

The ICO is also consulting on a series of guidance in this area. This consultation is on the fourth draft chapter to be published and focuses on data subject rights in relation to the training and fine-tuning of generative AI. The consultation is until 10 June.

Climate Change

An application for judicial review of the Government's March 2023 Carbon Budget Delivery Plan (CBDP) has been granted by the High Court. The claim was brought by NGOs ClientEarth, Friends of the Earth and the Good Law Project. They argued that the CBDP failed to comply with the requirements of the Climate Change Act 2008, which sets a 2050 net zero target for greenhouse gas emissions and requires the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to set carbon budgets and to prepare and report on policies and proposals to enable the targets and budgets to be met.

And finally…. interesting case of the month

High Court quashes Secretary of State's use of Henry VIII power to amend the Public Order Act 1986

The High Court has considered whether the Government's use of a "Henry VIII power" found in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSCA 2022) to amend the definition of "serious disruption" in the Public Order Act 1986 (POA 1986) was legitimate.

A Henry VIII power allows the Government to amend primary legislation using secondary legislation. Such powers can be controversial as they allow primary legislation to be amended with less scrutiny. In this case, the government attempted to amend the definition of "serious disruption" in the POA 1986 using the Public Order Act 1986 (Serious Disruption to the Life of the Community) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/655) (Regulations). This was despite the fact that the same amendments had recently been rejected by the House of Lords in primary legislation. You will note we have said this one was "interesting"!

The High Court found that the Government had acted beyond the scope of the Henry VIII power. It also found that a voluntary consultation undertaken by the government in relation to the Regulations had been one-sided and unfair. Another 'watch-out' case when it comes to voluntary consultation exercises.   

Finally the Government is seeking to appeal the judgment - so watch this space!

If you would like any more inofrmation or assitance on any of the above content please contact Lisa Kirkman in our Public Sector team on 07468 698 977. Alternatively you can complete the form below.