UK councillors call on EU not to place new or excessive burdens on local authorities

The UK associations of local government have called on senior EU representatives to demonstrate a clear commitment to ensuring that – at a time of public finance reductions – all future EU legislation is subject to an impact assessment.

At a summit in Brussels earlier this month with MEPs, the UK’s permanent representative and senior European Commission officials to discuss local government priorities, UK councillors stressed how EU decisions matter to local councils.

They added that they would seek to ensure that EU rules and resulting UK laws recognise the impact on local services and do not place new or excessive burdens on councils.

The UK representatives also said they were keen to support government, MEPs and the Commission through facts and data on the impact of proposed new regulation on frontline budgets.