Nottingham City Council
Policy Digest
dDdbriefing
Issue 61: October 2012
Introduction
Welcome to Issue 61 of the monthly Policy Digest covering national policy developments in October
2012 of interest to the local government sector. We include a short summary of the key policy
announcements from the main party conferences below.
Nottingham City Council was successful in receiving two top awards at the recent National
Transport Awards, winning both City of the Year and Transport Local Authority of the Year.
Local News
Regional Growth Fund
The City Council has been awarded a conditional allocation of £10m from the Regional Growth
Fund (RGF) to set up the Nottingham Technology Grant Fund (N’Tech). This project will allocate
funding to enable business to grow and employ more people. Other Nottingham bids also received
RGF funding; including the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP); Romax, a technology company
based at the Science Park, and Boots which was successful in a manufacturing facility bid. The full
list of the round three selected bidders is available here.
2012 Key Stage 4 (GCSE and equivalent) results (Provisional)
The DFE has published the Statistical First Release (SFR) ‘GCSE and Equivalent Results
(Provisional). These provide the earliest information on the overall achievements and the final
results. The provisional results shows that 48.9% of pupils achieved 5 GSCEs (A* to C inc. English
and Maths) which is an increase on 46.7% in the previous year.
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs)
 19 October was the deadline for nominations to stand as a PCC candidate – the 4 candidates in
Nottinghamshire are:
o Dr Raj Chandran – Independent
o Tony Roberts – Conservative
o Malcolm Spencer – Independent
o Paddy Tipping – Labour
 Nottingham Trent University will host a PCC hustings at the City Campus on Monday 5
November 2012. You can book here.
 Nottingham CVS, in association with Safer Future Communities and Victim Support, will be
hosting a PCC hustings on 7 November 2012, this is specifically for questions from the voluntary
sector.
NATIONAL POLICY NEWS
Click to jump to:
 Arts & Culture
 Constitution
 Crime & Community Safety
 Economy & Business
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Education & Children
Energy & Climate Change
Health & Adult Social Care
Housing & Planning
Note: This policy alert is for information only and does not constitute official Nottingham City Council policy
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Localism & Government Reform
Welfare
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Transport
Arts & Culture
Live Music
Changes to licensing took effect on 1 October, making it easier for small venues to stage live music.
No specific licence will be needed between 8am and 11pm for live unamplified music performed in
any location, and live amplified music in on-licensed premises and workplaces for audiences of up
to 200 people. More details can be found here.
Constitution
Scottish Independence?
A deal setting out terms for a Scottish independence referendum has been signed by Prime
Minister David Cameron and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond. Click here for more.
Crime & Community Safety
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs)
Government has launched a £3m advertising campaign to raise awareness of the PCC elections.
Adverts look to encourage people to vote. The PCC candidate website has also gone live. Voters
are able to find out about each and every potential PCC here.
Paying for Alcohol Related Crime and Disorder – Late Night Levy & EMROs
New powers to help pay the nation's £11bn a year bill for alcohol-related crime and disorder have
come into effect. The Late Night Levy gives Local Authorities the opportunity to ensure those selling
alcohol help pay towards the costs of cleaning up and policing the effects of excessive drinking in
towns and cities across the country. In addition, Early Morning Restriction Orders (EMRO) can
restrict the sale of alcohol in the early hours. Click here for more.
Economy & Business
No Stone Unturned,
Lord Heseltine’s Review of Regional Economic Growth Policy was published on the 31 October.
The review has a number of recommendations, including the establishment of Local Growth Teams
– six or seven sub-national teams of civil servants, each working to support a cluster of LEPs. The
report can be found here.
Growth & Infrastructure Bill
The Growth and Infrastructure Bill has been published, and aims to be “a comprehensive series of
practical reforms to reduce confusing and overlapping red tape that delays and discourages
business investment, new infrastructure and job creation”. The Bill includes the postponement of
revaluations of business rates, from 2015 to 2017. More detail is available here.
Quick update
 National Minimum Wage – the adult rate increased from £6.08 to £6.19ph from 1 October.
(Rates for under 21s unchanged, apprentices increased by 5p to £2.65). Click here for more.
Education & Children
Reforming Key Stage 4 Qualifications
The DfE is consulting, until 10 December, on plans to reform Key Stage 4 qualifications by
replacing GCSEs with a new qualification – ‘English Baccalaureate Certificates’. It is intended that
the new qualifications will be taught from September 2015 in English, mathematics and sciences,
with the first exams in summer 2017; the timetable for the introduction of other subjects will be
decided following this consultation. Click here to visit the consultation web page.
Note: This policy alert is for information only, and does not constitute official Nottingham City Council policy
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English GCSE: Legal action launched by schools and councils
A group of head teachers and councils has launched legal action against the exam regulator Ofqual
and two exam boards over June's English GCSE exam. Click here for more.
The Pupil Premium
Ofsted recently published a survey of how schools were using the Pupil Premium since its
introduction in April 2011. Key findings from the report highlight that only one in ten school leaders
said that the Pupil Premium had significantly changed the way that they supported pupils from
disadvantaged backgrounds. The funding was commonly used to maintain or enhance existing
provision rather than to put in place new initiatives. A full copy of the report can be found here.
Quick update
 Teachers will have to sit more rigorous entry tests standards before they can start teacher
training.
Energy & Climate Change
Household Tariffs
Ofgem is consulting on plans for a package of simpler, fairer measures to improve the
competitiveness of the household energy market. This follows a commitment to tackle problems of
tariff complexity, poor supplier behaviour and lack of transparency identified in its review of the retail
market. More detail is available here.
Green Deal
The Government has announced £125m cash-back scheme for householders in England and
Wales who make energy saving home improvements. The Green Deal will allow homes and
businesses to pay for energy efficiency improvements like insulation through savings on their
energy bills. The scheme will operate from 28 January 2013 and will run on a first-come-first served
basis. Please click here for more.
Local funding to reduce energy bills
The Government has announced a £40m competition aimed at driving local initiatives to boost
energy efficiency, reduce fuel poverty and encourage collective switching and purchasing. This
includes:
 £25m for local councils in England to bid to help low income and vulnerable citizens stay warm
through improving the thermal efficiency of their homes.
 £10m available for Green Deal ‘pioneer’ projects for councils in England (this follows on from the
earlier announcement of Green Deal ‘go early’ cities of which Nottingham is one).
 £5m for local authorities and third sector organisations to set up collective switching schemes
Click here for more.
Health & Adult Social Care
Care and support specialised housing fund
A £300m fund designed to provide new and modernised homes for older people and people with
disabilities has been announced. Local authorities will be able to bid for money from the fund to
build specially designed new homes and to modernise existing specialised housing. Click here for
more.
Dementia support
Up to £50m funding has been announced to support projects helping tailor hospitals and care
homes to the needs of people with dementia. NHS trusts and local authorities, in partnership with
care providers, will be able to bid for funds. The criteria for applying for funding and the deadline for
Note: This policy alert is for information only, and does not constitute official Nottingham City Council policy
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receipt of applications have not yet been announced. The successful projects are expected to begin
from April 2013. Click here for more.
Quick updates
 More information about the role of the Director of Public Health has been released. Click here
for more.
 The Cold Weather Plan for England 2012 has been published. Click here.
 A single system for nutrition labelling has been announced, expected to be in use by summer
2013. Click here for more detail.
 Healthwatch England, the new national, statutory consumer champion for health and social
care in England was launched this month. Click here.
 Public health transition guidance has been published, setting out information on the transfer
of intellectual property rights and related assets, and transfer documentation. Click here for
more.
Localism & Government Reform
Council tax freeze
Government has announced that local authorities that freeze council tax in 2013/14 will receive
funding equivalent to raising their 2012-13 council tax by one per cent. Councils wishing to raise
council tax by 2% or more will have to hold a local referendum. More detail is available here.
Changes to local authority use of RIPA
From 1 November 2012 local authorities are required to obtain judicial approval prior to using covert
techniques. Also, from this date local authority use of directed surveillance under RIPA will be
limited to the investigation of crimes which attract a custodial sentence of six months or more, with
the exception of offences relating to the underage sale of alcohol and tobacco. Click here for more
detail.
Community Shares Unit
Communities Minister Don Foster, has announced the creation of a Community Shares Unit to
provide support to communities who want to use the mechanism of community shares to raise
finance. Community shares let local people become part-owners of an asset: most investors buy
shares to help achieve a social good, however if the enterprise is successful they may receive
dividend payments. The new unit aims to grow the community shares market. It will also offer
advice and guidance on the market and practical support. More detail is available here.
Quick update
 www.gov.uk a single website for public services and government departments went online on
the 17 October. The new project will allow citizens to do everything from paying council tax and
setting up a company to checking when the clocks go back. It replaces direct.gov.uk and it is
available here.
Transport
Quick update
 The Government Response to the Transport Committee’s Road safety report has been
published. Click here for more.
Welfare
Council Tax Support Scheme – Transitional Grant Scheme
The Department for Communities and Local Government is making available to Local Authorities in
2013/14 an additional £100m. Those Local Authorities that adopt Council Tax support schemes that
comply with Government criteria will be eligible. More detail is available here.
Note: This policy alert is for information only, and does not constitute official Nottingham City Council policy
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Universal Credit – New Sanctions regime
The Department for Work and Pensions has introduced a new sanctions regime for jobseekers
receiving Jobseekers Allowance (JSA). There will be three levels of sanctions, ranging from a loss
of benefits for four weeks for a minor offence to three years for serious repeat offenders. Click here
for more.
Party Conferences
Liberal Democrat Announcements
of their intentions to:
 £50m for a two week summer school for children going into secondary school, to help them
catch up in Maths and English.
 Increase in pupil premium from £600 to £900 per pupil.
 £500 catch-up premium to schools for each pupil who has not achieved Level 4 at Key Stage 2
in reading and/or maths, to fund extra tuition or intensive support.
 Raise the personal tax allowance to £12,500 after 2015.
 Crossrail to be the first project to qualify for a new Government guarantee to ensure that
difficulties in raising private funding do not delay its delivery.
 £100m for early years education for 2 year olds.
Labour Announcements
of their intentions to:
 Introduce new technical baccalaureate, a vocational qualification which includes studying
English and Maths to 18.
 Bring in a ‘New Deal for Teachers’ to incentivise teaching as a career and improve teacher
quality.
 Replace the IPCC with a stronger ‘Police Standards Authority’ that would raise standards,
ensure adequate safeguards, and pursue investigations.
 Extend freedom of information to cover both public and private sector providers.
 Repeal the Health and Social Care Act.
 Task Sir John Armitt, the Chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority, with a review to of how longterm infrastructure decision-making, planning, delivery and finance can be improved.
Conservative Announcements
of their intentions to:
 Provide funding to local authorities that freeze council tax, equivalent to a 1% rise. Councils
wishing to raise council tax by 2% or more will have to hold a local referendum.
 Additional welfare cuts of £10 billion by 2016/17 expected to include:
o Further restrictions on under 25s claiming housing benefit, with an expectation that
unemployed under 25s live at home
o Some benefits will not be increased annually by rate of inflation
o Families without work may not be awarded additional benefit if they have more children
o Universal benefits for pensioners are expected to remain unchanged
 Rail fare increases to be capped at RPI +1%.
 Research Partnership Investment Fund for scientific research in English Universities was
launched with £100m of Government funding in the March Budget – the Government has added
another £200m see Economy and Business above.
 When a criminal receives an out-of-court community punishment the victim will choose the
form the punishment takes.
 A new deal in employment law whereby employees are given shares of the company they
work in, effectively replacing rights of unfair dismissal and redundancy with rights of ownership.
DBIS consultation, deadline 8 Nov (see Look Ahead).
Note: This policy alert is for information only, and does not constitute official Nottingham City Council policy
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Looking ahead
The Look Ahead gives an overview of the publications we expect in the coming months, until
January 2013. Some these will be the subject of Policy Alerts.
All Policy Alerts and Policy Digests are prepared by Partnerships, Nottingham City Council, and are
available on Nottingham Insight. Please send any feedback to Kerry Ferguson, 0115 87 63415.
Note: This policy alert is for information only, and does not constitute official Nottingham City Council policy
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