PURPOSE OF REPORT

This report advises Members of the introduction of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 and outlines some of the possible implications for the Fire and Rescue Authority.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report provides detail on certain provisions of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021. It notes the repeal of the Local Government Measure 2009 and the introduction of new performance and governance arrangements for fire and rescue authorities in Wales. It notes also the removal of the requirement for the Welsh Ministers to hold an inquiry if they vary a fire and rescue authority’s combination order, except in certain limited circumstances. New rules about electronic broadcasting, remote attendance and documentation of fire and rescue authority meetings are also described. It also notes the complexity of some aspects of the Act, and the need for additional regulations to be introduced to bring some sections into effect.

RECOMMENDATIONS

That Members note the contents of this report.

BACKGROUND

On 20 January 2021 the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill received Royal Assent and became an Act of Senedd Cymru.

The Bill was introduced in November 2019 by Julie James MS, Minister for Housing and Local Government with the stated purpose of providing for the “establishment of a new and reformed legislative framework for local government elections, democracy, performance and governance”.
 
Provisions in the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (the 2021 Act) relate to a range of matters including:
electoral arrangements for local government, including extending electoral cycles for councils from 4 to 5 years;
a general power of competence enabling qualifying councils to act “in their communities’ best interests” without the need to identify specific powers to undertake a particular activity;
the role of principal councils in encouraging public participation in local democracy;
the rights of certain employees and office holders of a local authority (or a connected body) to stand for election to that authority without having to resign unless they are elected;
• regional working mechanisms, including voluntary mergers or the restructuring of principal councils;
• performance and governance arrangements;
• local government finance including non-domestic rates and council tax;
• ‘miscellaneous’ matters relating to:
• information sharing between regulators,
• heads of democratic services,
• community polls,
• the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales,
• public services boards,
• combined fire and rescue authorities: inquiries,
• performance and governance of fire and rescue authorities, and
• the Local Government Measure 2009.

INFORMATION

As its title suggests, the 2021 Act applies to local government. However, not all its provisions apply to all bodies falling within the broader definition of local government. Whether, and how, each section applies to a fire and rescue authority (FRA) is not always immediately evident, and a number of provisions will rely on separate regulations being made by the Welsh Ministers.

Some of the changes for FRAs relate to:

Performance and governance (section 167):

Amendments to the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 which give the Welsh Ministers power to make regulations requiring FRAs to develop strategic plans and to specify what those plans should contain. Such regulations may also specify the arrangements that would be used to assess the Authority’s performance against these plans and against the Fire and Rescue National Framework. Performance and governance arrangements for principal councils will be subject to different regulations based on self-assessment and peer review.

Local Government Measure 2009 (sections 168 and 169)

The 2021 Act repeals the Local Government Measure 2009, therefore removing the Authority’s improvement planning duties as a “Welsh improvement authority”. The Authority will no longer be required to set improvement objectives under this Measure but it will still be required to set objectives under the Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015. The Authority will also need to publish one more retrospective assessment of its performance against 2020/21 improvement objectives under the previous regulations, by 31 October 2021.

The repeal of the Local Government Measure 2009 also means that the Auditor General will no longer have a duty in 2021/22 to assess whether the Authority met its continuous improvement obligations during 2020/21. Nevertheless, Audit Wales has indicated that it is considering incorporating this work into its programme of audit during 2021/22 in order to certify the Authority’s October 2021 assessment of its performance against 2020/21 improvement objectives.

Combined fire and rescue authorities: inquiries (section 166)

This section of the 2021 Act relates to inquiries into finance and governance arrangements of FRAs that were established by combination orders under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. The 2004 Act is amended so as to remove the requirement for the Welsh Ministers to hold an inquiry if they vary a combination order, except if the variation either alters the area covered by the FRA or revokes the combination order with a view to creating a wholly different configuration of FRAs.

Electronic broadcasts of meetings of local authorities (section 46)

This section relates to duties on principal councils to broadcast council meetings as they happen, and also to make recordings of broadcasts available for a reasonable period after the meeting. Although this section does not currently apply to FRAs, the Act gives Welsh Ministers the power to make regulations that would extend similar requirements to FRAs.

Attendance at meetings (section 47)

This section makes provision for local authority meetings (in this case, a local authority does include FRAs) to be held on a fully, or partially, virtual basis.

Welsh Fire and Rescue Service Circular W-FRSC(2020)11 issued in November 2020 explained that for FRAs this would mean that as a minimum attendees would be able to attend via an audio connection only, for example a phone conference, but that this would not prevent FRAs from using video connections if they wish.

Notices of meetings and other documents (sections 49 and 50)

This section gives the Welsh Ministers powers to make regulations regarding making meeting notices and documents available.

Other aspects of the 2021 Act are less clear in terms of their actual effect on FRAs. For example:

Public Services Boards and Regional Working

Section 165 (merging and demerging public services boards) clearly relates to FRAs because they are statutory members of public services boards (PSBs). The framework for regional collaboration and corporate joint committees (Part 5 of the Act), however, relates only to principal councils, although public services boards are listed in Part 5 as having to be consulted at various stages. How these arrangements will work in practice, therefore, remains to be seen.

Next steps: Over the coming weeks Officers will be working with the Clerk to identify and confirm those areas of the 2021 Act that apply to the Authority, and the changes that will need to be incorporated into relevant Authority documents and Service policies and/or procedures. Further reports will be provided to the Executive Panel, Audit Committee, Standards Committee and/or full Authority as appropriate.

IMPLICATIONS

Well-being Objectives
The FRA has already taken a blended approach to its Improvement Objectives and Well-being Objectives. However, as the FRA will no longer be subject to improvement planning duties under the Local Government Measure 2009, its focus will be on setting and working towards Well-being Objectives.
Budget
The cost of implementing any part of the 2021 Act will be determined as part of the planned next steps (paragraph 10 above).
Legal
The FRA will need to ensure that it identifies and ensures compliance with all aspects of the 2021 Act that apply to it.
Staffing
No implications identified.
Equalities/Human Rights/Welsh Language
The development or amendment of policies, procedures and other arrangements will need to be assessed in relation to these aspects during their development and implementation.
Risks
The risk of failing to correctly identify and implement those aspects of the 2021 Act that apply to the FRA.