Briefings and responses

As part of the Government’s ambition to tackle childhood obesity, DHSC launched a consultation seeking feedback on the drafting of the brand advertising exemption. The exemption will provide legal clarification on the existing policy intention that brand advertising which does not identify a specific less healthy food or drink product is out of scope of the restrictions.

Defra invited views on proposals to reform the system for allocating grant funding for flooding and at the same time issued a call for evidence on devolution and local choice in flood risk management. The LGA’s response from July 2025 supports the proposed reforms and asks that local government has a direct role in prioritising projects for funding.

The LGA’s response supports proposals to streamline BNG but we want to retain key parts of the policy to protect the investment in environmental improvement.

Treasury and HMRC invited views on proposals to remove the lower rate of landfill tax in a consultation that closed in July 2025. The LGA’s response asks for a longer trajectory to phase out the lower rate or for the lower rate to be replaced by an intermediate rate. This would help councils manage any additional costs in the context of other financial pressures. We also note the risk of increased fly-tipping

Community BenefitsEnergy Infrastructure Planning ReformDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero55 WhitehallLondonSW1A 2HP  Dear Community Benefits team,

The Government held a technical consultation on their proposed reforms to planning committees, seeking views on the delegation of planning functions, the size and composition of committees, mandatory training for planning committee members, and improving delegated decision making.

The LGA welcomes the Government’s announcement of the first-ever Men’s Health Strategy for England. Men face significantly higher rates of serious health conditions and premature death compared to women.

The Government held a technical consultation on the introduction of a new statutory build out framework and the power to decline to determine applications from 25 May to 7 July 2025.

The Government invited views to inform further policy development and proposed options to incentivise a faster rate of build out and poses questions on how this could be achieved.

The Government invited views to inform further policy development and explored how different site sizes should be treated within the planning system, inviting views on reforming site thresholds through a gradated approach to the system as a whole.