LGA hails government climbdown over proposals to pass on EU fines

The government has climbed down over proposals in the Localism Bill to give ministers sole power to force councils to pay fines levied by the European Union against the UK for missing targets on issues such as air quality.

The Local Government Association, which has campaigned vociferously on the issue, described the move as “a fantastic result for local government and council tax payers”.

The LGA had described the original plan as “unfair, unconstitutional and dangerous” as there was no independent appeal and arbitration process in the event of a dispute.

The government has now made a number of concessions to the Bill. These include the introduction of a statutory policy describing the conditions under which national fines can be reallocated to local authorities.

Under these conditions, any proposal to pass fines to local authorities will be subject to votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Ministers will not be able to pass on fines to local authorities in respect of anything that took place before that specific parliamentary vote.

In addition, if a council contests the fine, the issue will be ruled on by an independent panel that includes local government representatives, nominated by the LGA.

Sir Merrick Cockell, Chairman of the LGA, said: "This is a fantastic result for local government and council tax payers. The previous system was unfair and unconstitutional and could have seen the Government arbitrarily pass its fines onto councils.

“The amendments, for which we successfully lobbied, mean any decision to reallocate fines will be subjected to parliamentary scrutiny, with further systems of checks and balances introduced which make the proposals demonstrably fairer. We will continue to fight to ensure councils are not lumped with fines they do not deserve."