HCLG Committee Chair calls for more engagement with local government on Brexit process and negotiations

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee Chair, Clive Betts MP, has written to the Secretary of State to call for more Government engagement with local government on the Brexit process and negotiations.

In a letter to Sajid Javid following a session held with metro mayors in Manchester on March 19, the Committee is also calling for more details on funding, addressing the skills gap brought about by Brexit and how the future oversight of legislation would work.

With just a year to go before UK withdrawal from the EU, Chair of the HCLG Committee Clive Betts urges the Government to “formalise the structure” of engagement with local authorities to avoid ”the infrequent and uneven dialogue” that has taken place so far.

The letter also asks whether the Government will be distributing any of the promised £3billion of funding to local authorities to assist in supporting a “smooth and orderly exit” and for more clarity on how the proposed new UK Shared Prosperity Fund will work when it replaces current EU structural funds.

Finally, the letter asks how local government will be supported in addressing the skills gap post-Brexit and how the role of the Committee of the Regions may be replicated.

The Committee previously wrote to the Secretary of State on 18 December, following the Committee’s first session on the impact of Brexit on local government. His reply can been seen here.

ENDS

Editor’s note:

On 19 March, the Committee heard from Mayor Ben Houchen, Tees Valley Combined Authority, Mayor Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Len Duvall AM, Chair, EU Exit Working Group, London Assembly, and James Palmer, Mayor, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. A full transcript of the session is available here.

On 6 December, the Committee heard from Professor Amelia Hadfield, Director, Centre for European Studies, Canterbury Christ Church University, Professor Laurence Ferry, Durham University, Rob Whiteman, Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, and Professor Tony Travers, Director, Institute of Public Affairs, London School of Economics; Councillor Kevin Bentley, Brexit Task and Finish Group, Local Government Association, Jessie Hamshar, Service Director (Strategy and Engagement), Cornwall Council, and Helen Dickinson, Assistant Chief Executive, Newcastle City Council. A full transcript of the session is available here.