This consultation seeks views on the approach to local authority funding reform through the local government finance settlement from 2026-27.

This consultation seeks views on the approach to determining new funding allocations for local authorities and fire and rescue authorities. It covers: guiding objectives and principles; measuring differences in demand for services and the cost of delivering them; measuring differences in locally available resources; the New Homes Bonus; and implementing changes and keeping allocations up-to-date. It also covers: ways the Government can reduce demands on local government to empower them to deliver for communities; and sales, fees and charges reform. It invites views on the possible equalities impacts of these proposals.

The consultation can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/local-authority-funding-reform-objectives-and-principles.

The closing date for responses is 11:59pm on 12 February 2025.

This consultation seeks views, in particular from representatives of local government, on proposals for the local government finance settlement for 2025-26. The settlement is an annual process to distribute core resources to local government and consists of grant, council tax and locally retained business rates. Following consultation, the government will determine the final amounts of the Revenue Support Grant, and the section 31 grants distributed alongside the settlement, and their allocations to receiving authorities and the specified body, as part of determining the overall allocation of this year’s settlement made to each local authority in England.

This consultation document, together with accompanying documents including the draft Local Government Finance Report for 2025-26, notifies representatives of local government and members of the public of the government’s proposals for policies across the upcoming settlement. This includes: the general nature of the basis of Revenue Support Grant distribution; the general nature of the basis of the calculation of ‘tariff’ and ‘top up’ payments that form part of the business rates retention system; the determination of the ‘central’ and ‘local share’ of business rates for 2025-26; the general nature of the basis of the distribution of section 31 grants alongside the settlement; and council tax referendum principles set through the settlement process.

On 28 November, the government published a policy statement setting out the government’s intentions for the 2025-26 settlement and the direction of travel to fix the foundations of local government in 2026-27 and beyond. This consultation builds on and invites views on the proposals set out in that statement for 2025-26 only.

The consultation can be found at Consultation: provisional local government finance settlement 2025 to 26 - GOV.UK

The closing date for responses is 15 January 2025.

The IRRV's response can be found here: https://www.irrv.net/documents/weblinks/2025/1/IRRV_Response_Consultation_Prov_LG_Finance_Settlement_2025.pdf

To meet the Welsh Government’s commitment to improve the appeals process and provide greater transparency, they plan to make the following changes:

• Clearly define the operational responsibilities of each organisation, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and the Valuation Tribunal for Wales (VTW), to improve taxpayers’ understanding of who does what and when.
• Enable the VOA to provide taxpayers with their own property data and any available evidence used to arrive at their banding earlier in the process, thus improving transparency and allowing people to make informed choices as early as possible.
• Ensure the VOA and the VTW clearly set out the choices and next steps in correspondence with the taxpayer and provide an option for taxpayers to withdraw after reviewing property data and evidence provided.
• Remove the automatic referral of an unresolved proposal to the VTW, allowing autonomy for taxpayers to decide how far into the process they wish to go.

The paper can be found at https://www.gov.wales/proposed-changes-council-tax-proposals-and-appeals-system

The closing date for comments is 3 April 2025.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) aims to improve its statistics to ensure they continue to best meet the needs of users. Following a review of business floorspace statistics, they have identified two possible ways to measure and classify floorspace within the statistics. Floorspace can continue to be classified at an overall hereditament level; or floorspace can be measured at a more granular level and aggregated by the use of each section of a hereditament.

The purpose of the consultation is to understand how floorspace statistics are used and therefore which of the two methods will better meet user needs. The document sets out the broad differences in the two approaches and invites feedback from users. It is published alongside a Quality Assurance of Administrative Data (QAAD) report which provides more detail on our non-domestic property attribute data, to give users the necessary information to respond.

The consultation can be found here.

The deadline for responses is 30 January 2025.

At the Autumn Budget 2024, the government announced its intention to introduce permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties from 2026-27 to level the playing field for the high-street. 

This paper sets out the government’s priority areas of reform to achieve the remaining objectives. The paper includes the following chapters:

• Chapter 1 explains why the government believes the business rates system needs to be reformed.
• Chapter 2 details the immediate actions taken by the government in Autumn Budget 2024 to protect the high street.
• Chapter 3 sets out the government’s areas of interest for further reform.
• Chapter 4 sets out the government’s next steps and how stakeholders can participate.

The government is interested in receiving representations from all interested parties and stakeholders on the priority areas set out in chapter 3. They are especially interested in receiving representations from businesses and their representatives, local authorities, and rating agents.

They will be conducting engagement between November 2024 and March 2025, with an initial phase of engagement before Christmas.

Written submissions on the priority areas set out, are to be received no later than March 2025, via transformingbusinessrates@hmtreasury.gov.uk.  

The paper can be found here: Transforming business rates - GOV.UK 

This consultation seeks views on a range of proposals aimed at implementing technical reforms to the compulsory purchase process and compensation rules to make it cheaper, quicker and fairer.

The paper and on-line response link can be found at Compulsory Purchase Process and Compensation Reforms - GOV.UK.

Closing date for responses is 13 February 2025.

The Law Commission is reviewing outdated compulsory purchase laws to support a faster, simpler and more modern land acquisition process.

They have published a consultation paper on compulsory purchase as part of a review of the law on compulsory purchase and compensation. They are seeking views from anyone with an interest in or awareness of this area of law. The consultation is open until 31 March 2025.

The full consultation paper available, as well as a summary of the consultation paper, and a Welsh version of the summary. Responses can be provided using the online form. If you need any of the documents in an alternative format, please email them at: compulsorypurchase@lawcommission.gov.uk.

This strategy commits to a series of measures to fix the broken local audit system, including:

• A local audit vision with eight core principles.
• The establishment of a statutory and independent Local Audit Office (LAO), with five strategic responsibilities - coordinating the system, contract management, ownership of the Code of Audit Practice, quality oversight and reporting.
• Mandating audit committees.

The government is also consulting on a number of specific proposals as part of this strategy, including:

• Potential additional functions of the new LAO.
• Simplifying financial reporting requirements to ensure they are proportionate.
• Improvements to enhance capacity and capability in the local audit sector, such as the introduction of public provision.
• Strengthening the relationship between local bodies and their auditor.
• Reforming the audit regime.

The paper is found at Local audit reform: a strategy for overhauling the local audit system in England - GOV.UK.

Closing date for responses is 29 January 2025.

The Law Commission’s first Consultation Paper on “Business Tenancies: the right to renew” was published on 19 November. Publication marks the beginning of a 3-month consultation period, ending on 19 February 2025.

Their Business Tenancies project is a review of the 1954 Act. The Act gives business tenants a legal right to another tenancy when their existing tenancy comes to an end (a right known as “security of tenure”), subject to the landlord’s ability to oppose another tenancy in certain circumstances.

The Consultation Paper asks key questions about the possible options to reform the 1954 Act. In particular, they consider the pros and cons of the current “contracting-out” model of security of tenure and consider three alternative models: mandatory security of tenure, abolition of security of tenure and a “contracting-in” model. They seek consultees’ views on which model they prefer. They also seek views on whether or not the types of business tenancy which can benefit from security of tenure – the Act’s scope – are the right ones.

After they have analysed all the responses to our first Consultation Paper and reached conclusions on the issues it raises, they will then expect to publish a second, technical Consultation Paper.

Alongside the Consultation Paper, they published a short survey on the impact of Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (“the 1954 Act”) on the current commercial leasehold market.

The consultation can be found here. The survey can be found here.

The deadline for responses is 19 February 2025.

The Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Bill completed its progress through the Scottish Parliament on 6 June 2024. Section 1 of the Bill requires Scottish Ministers to create a moratorium on debt recovery action by creditors against individuals who have a mental illness. This is an enabling power which lays out the framework for the moratorium with the detail of the process to be provided in secondary legislation.

A draft of the The Debt Recovery (Mental Health Moratorium) (Scotland) Regulations has now been produced. This is based on the expert Mental Health Moratorium working group's recomendation, feedback from the Mental Health Moratorium public consultation, and various debates during scrutiny of the Bankrupty and Diligence (Scotland) Bill.

This consultation has been formed from the draft Regulations (although please note that some minor changes have been made to the Regulations since they were shared with the Scottish Parliament). Feedback received during this consultation will enable us to finalise and commence the Mental Health Moratorium Regulations subject to the will of Parliament.

The consultation could be found at The draft Debt Recovery (Mental Health Moratorium) (Scotland) Regulations - Scottish Government consultations - Citizen Space

The deadline for responses is 17 March 2025.