The Local Government (Structural Changes) (Transitional Arrangements) (No.2) Regulations 2008

Plans, reviews, schemes, statements and strategies required not later than 12 months after the reorganisation date

12.—(1) Where it is practicable to do so in the period beginning on the date on which these Regulations come into force and ending on the reorganisation date—

(a) each preparing council which is a county council and each shadow council shall prepare for the whole of its area, and if required by the enactment concerned publish, a document of each of the following descriptions—

(i) an allocation scheme under section 167 of the Housing Act 1996(1);

(ii) a licensing statement (statement of licensing policy) under section 5 of the Licensing Act 2003(2);

(iii) a statement of principles under section 349 (three-year licensing policy) of the Gambling Act 2005(3); and

(iv) a statement of the policy for the provision of assistance under article 3 of the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002(4);

(b) each shadow council and each preparing council which is a district council shall prepare for the whole of its area and publish—

(i) an accessibility strategy and plan under section 28D of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995(5); and

(ii) a children’s and young people’s plan under regulation 3 of the Children and Young People’s Plan (England) Regulations 2005(6); and

(c) each shadow council and each preparing council which is a county council shall—

(i) carry out for the whole of its area a homelessness review within the meaning of the Homelessness Act 2002(7); and

(ii) based on the results of that review, formulate and publish a homelessness strategy within the meaning of that Act.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a)—

(a) the Acts and Order referred to in paragraphs (i) to (iv) shall have effect in relation to a shadow council as if the shadow council were a preparing council; and

(b) the statement referred to in paragraph (iii) shall be prepared in accordance with the Gambling Act 2005 (Licensing Authority Policy Statement) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006(8).

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b)—

(a) section 28D of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 shall have effect in relation to a shadow council as if the shadow council were a county council; and

(b) the Children and Young People’s Plan (England) Regulations 2005 shall have effect as if references to an authority included references to a shadow council and to a preparing council which is a district council(9).

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c)—

(a) section 1(3) of the Homelessness Act 2002 shall not have effect; and

(b) section 1 of that Act (except subsection (3)) and sections 2 to 4 of that Act shall have effect as if—

(i) references to a local housing authority included references to a preparing council which is a county council and to a shadow council, and

(ii) references to a local housing authority’s district (in whatever terms) included references to the area of a preparing council which is a county council and to a shadow council’s area.

(5) Where a plan, review, scheme, statement or strategy of a description in paragraph (1) has not been completed, formulated or prepared (as the case may be) and, where required by or under the enactment concerned, published, before the reorganisation date, the single tier council that is related to the council authorised by that paragraph to take that action shall take such steps as are necessary to secure that the plan, review, scheme, statement or strategy is completed, formulated or prepared (as the case may be) and, where required by or under the enactment concerned, published, not later than the date that falls 12 months after the reorganisation date.

(6) In the period beginning on the reorganisation date and ending on the date on which the single tier council complies with paragraph (5), reviews and strategies of the description specified in paragraph (1)(c) and plans, schemes, statements and strategies of the descriptions specified in paragraph (1)(a) and (b) that have been carried out, formulated or prepared (as the case may be) and, where required by or under the enactment concerned, published—

(a) before the reorganisation date, by any council that is a predecessor council in relation to the single tier council; or

(b) before the date on which the section 7 order came into force, by the related preparing or shadow council,

shall be treated as if they had been carried out, formulated, prepared, and (where required) published by the single tier council for the whole or such part of its area as corresponds to the area to which the particular plan, review, scheme, statement or strategy relates.

(7) Nothing in paragraph (6) shall affect the continued validity, after the date on which the single tier council complies with paragraph (5), of a plan, review, scheme, statement or strategy prepared and published as mentioned in paragraph (6)(a) or (b), for any transitional purpose specified in the plan, review, scheme, statement or strategy prepared by the single tier council.

(8) The requirements of section 5(1) of the Licensing Act 2003 shall be treated as satisfied, as regards the three year period beginning with 7th January 2011(10), and a single tier council, by a statement published in accordance with regulations under subsection (7) of that Act—

(a) by that council’s related preparing or shadow council by virtue of paragraph (1)(a) above; or

(b) by the single tier council under paragraph (5) above.

(9) The requirements of section 349(1) of the Gambling Act 2005 shall be treated as satisfied, as regards the three year period beginning with 31st January 2010(11), and a single tier council, by a statement published in accordance with regulations under subsection (4) of that Act—

(a) by that council’s related preparing or shadow council by virtue of paragraph (1)(a) above; or

(b) by the single tier council under paragraph (5) above.

(1)

1996 c.52, amended by the Homelessness Act 2002 (c.7), section 16.

(2)

2003 c.17.

(3)

2005 c.19.

(4)

S.I. 2002/1860. As to the requirement for the policy, see article 4 of the 2002 Order.

(5)

1995 c.50. Section 28D was inserted by section 14(1) of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (c.10) and amended by paragraph 26 of Schedule 21 to the Education Act 2002 (c.32). Subsection (6) was repealed by the Children Act 2004 (c.31), Schedule 5, Part 3. Subsection (13) was amended by the Education Act 2005 (c.18), Schedule 9, para 8.

(6)

S.I. 2005/ 2149, amended by S.I. 2007/57.

(7)

2002 c.7. Section 3 was amended by the Local Government Act 2003 (c.26), Sch. 7, para 81. For the meaning of “homelessness review” see section 2. For the meaning of “homelessness strategy” see section 3. Section 4 contains other relevant definitions.

(8)

S.I. 2006/636.

(9)

See the definition of “authority” in regulation 2(1) of S.I. 2005/2149.

(10)

S.I. 2004/2362 appointed 7th January 2005 as the start of the first three year period for the purposes of section 5 of the Licensing Act 2003.

(11)

S.I. 2006/637 appointed 31st January 2007 as the start of the first three year period for the purposes of section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005.