Welcome to the April edition of Local Government Matters.
“Humanity, like armies in the field, advances at the speed of the slowest.”
This is a line from "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez and it has such resonance today when considering different national government responses to the Covid 19 pandemic. The approach taken however by local government in this country, to continue to provide service, support vulnerable people and support local business has been quick and extraordinary in many respect. There has been no slowness in the response. It is doubly impressive when the impacts of austerity are not just lingering but continue to run deep. We explored the idea of local government resilience in our research piece last year and the response by local government to the Covid 19 pandemic has once again shown that local government is adaptable, resilient and a force for good.
In this edition of our Local Government Matters we explore some of the legal implications arising from the Covid 19 pandemic. We are of course publishing lots of topical guidance notes on a regular basis and these can be accessed free of charge at www.trowers.com. We are particularly grateful to Kieran Keane the Chief Executive of Lancaster City Council who, in our Insights section, tells us about what he and his colleagues have been doing to steer their Council through these unprecedented times.
Please click on the links below to view the articles in April's edition:
- Covid-19 frontline series: how local authorities are responding to the pandemic crisis
- Local Hardship Fund
- Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Note - Supplier relief due to COVID-19
- Impact of the coronavirus lockdown on the determination of planning applications
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Furloughing public sector employees
- The impact of Covid-19 on Local Authority decision making and flexibility for meetings
- The impact of coronavirus on contractual obligations
- Procurement processes and the impact of Covid-19
- Court of Appeal's Heathrow decision delivers climate warning to councils