Responding to the publication of the White Paper on the Great
Repeal Bill, , Chairman of the Local
Government Association, said:
“The UK’s exit from the European Union will have a significant
impact on local government, creating challenges that need to be
addressed but also opportunities to do things differently.
“EU laws impact on many of the council services that affect
people’s day-to-day lives. These range from deciding how to
protect people from being served unsafe food when they eat out to
regulating how councils buy goods and services.
“Local government must play a central role in deciding whether to
keep, amend or scrap EU laws once they are converted into
domestic law.
“Brexit should not simply mean a transfer of powers from Brussels
to Westminster, Holyrood, Stormont and Cardiff Bay. It must lead
to new legislative freedoms and flexibilities for councils so
that residents and businesses benefit. Taking decisions over how
to run local services closer to where people live is key to
improving them and saving money.
“Local areas in England have been allocated £5.3 billion in EU
regeneration funding by 2020 to create jobs, support small and
medium-sized enterprises, deliver skills, and boost local growth
across the country. The Government also needs to begin work with
local government to develop a fully-funded and locally-driven
successor scheme which gives local areas full control over
spending.
"It will also be important to secure continuing access to loans
from the European Investment Bank.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
There was a diversity of views among local government about
Britain’s membership of the EU. To reflect this, the LGA remained
neutral during and post the referendum.
