Tag: National Association of Local Councils

The press release issued by the National Association of Local Councils on 11 November 2022.

The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) calls on local (parish and town) councils to respond to the final consultation on new parliamentary constituencies.

The Boundary Commission for England (BCE) has opened a final consultation on its proposals for new parliamentary constituencies as part of the 2023 Boundary Review. The commission is required by Parliament to undertake an independent and impartial review of all constituencies in England, to rebalance the number of electors in each constituency. The 2023 Boundary Review also requires that the number of constituencies in England increase from 533 to 543.

The commission has listened to the feedback sent in from the public so far and has changed nearly half of the initial proposals published last year. The new revised proposals are now available to view via an interactive map on the consultation website.

Residents and communities can respond by visiting bcereviews.org.uk and commenting on the proposals via the website, email or letter. Hard copies of the proposals are also available to view at public places of deposit listed on the Boundary Commission for England website. Feedback can be given on anything from where the proposed electoral boundaries are to the suggestions for new constituency names.

Once the consultation has closed, the commission will look at all the feedback sent in and consider whether any changes should be made to the revised proposals for constituency boundaries. Final recommendations will then be submitted to Parliament by 1 July 2023, and the new constituencies will take effect at the next General Election.

The consultation is open until 5 December 2022.

Respond to the consultation

Read the guide to the 2023 review

The press release issued by the National Association of Local Councils on 28 October 2022.

The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) highlighted the role local (parish and town) councils could play in decarbonisation.

NALC responded this week to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) independent review of net zero. NALC urged the government to recognise the role local councils can play to help the government meet its net-zero targets and not just factor in the private sector.

NALC highlighted that local councils could achieve this by:

• Showing leadership through using low-carbon and environmentally sympathetic practices in their day-to-day activities.
• Encouraging residents and businesses to adopt lower-carbon practices.
• Undertaking new initiatives which use low-carbon technology.

Full Response (in .pdf format)

The press release issued by the National Association of Local Councils on 18 October 2022.

With the highest rates of inflation in decades and a collapse in the pound’s value, the UK is facing a cost-of-living crisis that will affect millions of working people across the UK.

The crisis has a disproportionate impact on low-wage households, who spend a larger proportion of their income on fuel and food. According to the Living Wage Foundation ‘Life on Low Pay’ report, there are currently an estimated 4.8m workers earning a wage below the cost of living. 42% of such workers report missing meals regularly due to financial reasons, and 56% report using food banks regularly. During the winter months, many of these workers are facing bleak choices such as whether to ‘heat or eat’.

Why is it important to address the cost-of-living crisis?

We understand that the cost-of-living crisis is having a huge impact on the mental health of workers, which is already estimated to have cost the UK private sector between £53-56bn in 2020-21. Workers under financial pressure are unlikely to perform at their best, and businesses are likely to face reduced productivity, higher turnover and increased training costs.

The government has a primary role in ensuring that people are protected, and they have introduced measures in response to rising energy costs. While these measures (to cap energy prices to £2,500 for a typical household) will make a difference, it should be noted that this is double what the average household bill was in 2020.

Businesses and specifically the largest publicly listed employers, can play an essential role in shielding their lower-paid workforce from the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis.

What are we doing?

For this reason, CCLA and the Church Investors Group have written to the largest publicly listed employers about their response and specifically asking them:

• Whether they have taken any steps to support their lowest-paid employees through this winter, or if they have any plans to be implemented over the next few weeks?
• What proportion of their workforce will be impacted by these activities, and how were they selected for assistance?
• Whether the third-party contracted staff whose principal place of work is one of your premises (such as cleaners, caterers and security guards) eligible for assistance through any ‘cost-of-living’ programme that they offer?
• If they have no plans, why are they not acting on this issue?

We will be summarising their responses on the website. Our intention for this engagement is to encourage large employers to respond and to showcase how businesses are already addressing the challenges of the cost-of-living crisis.