Friday brief: Reform UK council to tell PM to abandon ‘ill thought-out’ digital ID scheme
Our end of the week news round up
North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) has voted to oppose government plans to introduce a compulsory digital ID for all UK residents.
Under the proposed scheme, digital ID will be stored on phones and used to help prove identity when applying for jobs and government and private sector services. The Labour government has said this will support its aim of curbing illegal migration and “send a clear message that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to work”.
It is understood that when the scheme is first rolled out, it will be a legal requirement for employers to check your digital ID as proof of your right to work.
The council was vocal in its criticism of the proposals at its full council meeting last night and passed a motion to write to Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “ask that he abandon this ill-thought-out scheme”.
The motion, which was jointly proposed by Conservative and Reform UK councillors, argues that digital ID would be a “clear danger for our residents” and a “step towards authoritarianism”.
Cllr Chris Munday (Reform UK) said:
“The government claims this is about preventing illegal working. As someone who works in the HR profession, I can tell you plainly it won’t.
“Those employers who choose to break the law, those who hire illegal workers, will simply continue to ignore any new system, just as they ignore the current one.
“But the real danger is what lies beneath – the creeping
authoritarianism that comes with it. It’s the slow normalisation of being checked, logged and approved.”
Cllr Brian Benneyworth, Reform UK executive member for health and leisure, added:
“What happens to those who cannot afford the technology or lack the digital literacy to navigate these systems?
“This scheme risks excluding the very people who rely most on council services – older residents, those with disabilities, low-income families and people experiencing homelessness.
“It risks turning councils into gatekeepers of a national ID system, rather than providers of services, support and care.”
However, Cllr Simon Fairhall (Lib Dem) labelled the calls a “waste of time motion”, despite his own opposition to digital ID.
He asked the council chamber:
“Are we going to have a motion every time the government makes an announcement?
“The first line of our rules states motions must be on matters which North Northamptonshire has direct responsibility and can implement. I don’t believe we have either.”
Labour’s Cllr Mark Pengelly also questioned if the meeting was the right place to discuss the government’s plans.
He said:
“We’ve got all these new councillors in this chamber tonight, all elected to look after and represent their constituents and we’ve got nothing on the agenda tonight.
“We’re not debating the problems in the planning department, the potholes that haven’t been filled, overcrowding and the lack of housing, we’re not debating the contaminated land, we’re not debating things like adult social care.
“We’re looking at something that’s totally out of our control. I myself am not in favour of it and I think it’s the wrong policy. But, I think this is the wrong thing for us to be debating as councillors.”
Conservative group leader, Cllr Helen Harrison, who put forward the motion, said that it was right to discuss, given the effect it would have on day-to-day lives and the potential impact on services the authority provides.
“I predict that over time the government of the day will gradually increase the scope of ID cards,” she added.
“Each time, it’ll sound reasonable. But, bit by bit, encroaching on every aspect of your life.
“It will undermine our privacy and civil liberties and we should strenuously oppose it.”
The majority of elected members voted in favour of the motion, with just three abstentions and two voting against. NNC Leader Cllr Martin Griffiths said he would be “delighted” to write to the Prime Minister on the issue, as requested.
A Labour Party spokesperson said:
“Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure.
“And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly – rather than hunting around for an old utility bill.
“This Labour Government is doing the hard graft to deliver a fairer Britain for those who want to see change and to see their communities thrive again.”
The government is set to launch a public consultation on the digital ID plans by the end of the year.
Report by Nadia Lincoln, local democracy reporter
News in Brief:
Families across Northamptonshire will peacefully protest in Northampton on Monday as part of a national movement taking place across many authorities in the UK.
Organised by The SEND Sanctuary UK families are being encouraged to lay a pair of children’s shoes outside the Northampton Guildhall, for families under West Northants Council (WNC), and Swanspool House in Wellingborough, for those in North Northamptonshire Council (NNC), to represent every child across England who has been failed by the education system.
The campaign, named ‘Every Pair Tells a Story’, is a national movement, with more than 70 local events being coordinated across England on the same day.
Aimee Bradley, founder of The SEND Sanctuary UK said:
“These shoes tell the stories of children who want to learn, play and be included. No child should be left behind because the system decided their needs were too complex or too inconvenient.
“This is about every child failed by broken promises and endless red tape. The government must listen to parents.
“We are not the problem. We are the evidence of the problem. Our children deserve more than words. They deserve real change, and they deserve it now.”
Both Northamptonshire councils are facing significant pressure in delivering adequate SEND provision, with more than 4,000 children and young people with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in each authority and parents continuing to raise concerns about a shortage of special school places and issues with consistent SEND provision.
NNC’s executive member for children’s, families and education, Cllr Elizabeth Wright, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:
“We know that the number of children and young people being identified with SEND, both nationally and locally, is increasing at unprecedented rates.
“To address these challenges, a huge amount of work has gone into developing a SEND strategic sufficiency programme, seeking to create 800 additional places in partnership with mainstream and special schools by 2031/32. Alongside system-wide improvements, we are committed to working with our partners – and parents – to ensure every child and young person with SEND receives the support they need to thrive.
“We would also encourage families with concerns, or who require further support and information to contact the North Northamptonshire SEND Information Advice Support Service.”
Cllr Mark Arnull, Leader of WNC said:
“I’m aware of the protests organised by SEND Sanctuary UK taking place nationally, including one here in Northampton.
“In West Northants we are working hard with partners to improve outcomes for families, but with unprecedented demand for services, depleted funding and the national SEND system effectively broken and urgently needing reform, we are swimming against the tide.”
Both protests will take place between 10.30am and 1pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend or donate a pair of children’s shoes to be displayed on the day.
After the event, all donated shoes will be collected and given to local charities supporting children and families in need.
Report by Nadia Lincoln
Surveys and community meetings are happening in the ‘left behind’ areas of North Northants that are set to receive millions in government cash over the next decade to improve.
Avondale Grange in Kettering, along with the Queensway estate in Wellingborough and Corby’s Kingswood and Exeter estates will receive £2m a year for the next ten years for community sanctioned projects.
For each area an independent board made up of community leaders and the area’s MP will be established which will make decisions on where the cash is spent.
Kettering MP Rosie Wrighting has launched a survey and said:
“What is fantastic about this funding is that local people will decide how it is spent – not politicians in Westminster – so I really want to hear people’s ideas.
“It could be spent on improving community facilities, action to make the area safer and stronger, initiatives for children and families or anything else that is important to you – the possibilities are endless.”
Corby MP Lee Barron is sending a letter to 5,000 homes in the areas affected and has one community meeting so far, with three more to come. Residents will also be asked to nominate who they want to feature on the board.
A survey has been sent out by Wellingborough MP Gen Kitchen’s office and a community event is being organised.
By Sarah Ward
The leader of the Labour group at West Northamptonshire Council is calling on the authority to ensure that social housing tenants know of their new rights that came into force this week.
Awaab’s law - named after Rochdale two-year-old Awaab Ishak who tragically died from prolonged exposure to mould - sets out strict criteria for how landlords must respond and deal with properties that have mould.
Labour cllr Sally Keeble has written to the council’s chief executive and cabinet member for housing to ask for assurances that information will go to all social housing tenants.
Social housing in Northampton is run by Northamptonshire Partnership Homes, which was found by the government’s housing regulator last year to be failing thousands of residents, with delayed repairs and late safety checks.
The authority’s cabinet will make a decision on November 11 about whether to bring the housing back under its control.
By Sarah Ward
Plans to build new homes next to a large allotment site in Wellingborough have been given the go-ahead at appeal, despite local objections.
Applicant Shelley Brown took North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) to appeal over its refusal to allow planning permission for up to seven homes to the rear of Hillside Road.
The site forms an area of paddock land, most recently used for the keeping of horses, which is set behind the residential gardens on Hillside Road and surrounded by an expansive area of allotments.
As part of the plans, 45 Hillside Road, which sits at the very end of the street next to the gate leading to Brook Farm and Ladywell Allotments, will be demolished to make way for the new access road onto the housing development.
According to the council, at the time of the initial planning application, objections were recorded from 23 households. A letter on behalf of 150 members of the adjacent Ladywell Allotments was also submitted opposing the housing plans.
Wellingborough Town Council also objected to the plans, citing concerns that it constituted overdevelopment of the site, did not protect existing biodiversity assets or habitats, and would have an adverse effect on neighbouring properties.
NNC decided to refuse the scheme due to the harmful impact upon the character of the area, and insufficient information on biodiversity, ecology and special protection area mitigations and safeguards.
The planning inspectorate noted that the council reviewed the appellant’s response during its appeal investigation and was satisfied with the ecological and biodiversity enhancements proposed on site.
The appeal also found that there would be no adverse effect from the proposed homes on the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Special Protection Area, which is known for its international importance for wetland habitats and birds.
The inspector added:
“Several objections have been received which cite overlooking, loss of amenity and privacy to nearby dwellings.
“As this is an outline scheme these matters could be addressed at the reserved matters stage and I see no suggestion that the standard of amenity which is currently enjoyed by adjacent residential occupiers would not be maintained.”
So far, only outline permission has been approved by the planning inspectorate. The developer must apply once again to the council to approve the detailed plans for the homes before building can start.
By Nadia Lincoln
A national wave of protests by civil liberty group Defend our Juries will include an event in Northampton next month.
The county town will be one of 18 areas across the UK that will take part in the Life the Ban Protests to challenge the government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.
So far over 2,000 people have been arrested under terrorism legislation for taking part in non violent protests in which people have sat silently holding handwritten cardboard signs saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
Around 170 of those arrested have so far been charged with section 13 offences under the Terrorism Act 2000, offences which carry a maximum six month prison sentence.
At the Court Of Appeal ruling on 15 October, Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori won two more grounds for her Judicial Review at the same time as the government lost their attempt to block the legal challenge of the ban. Defend Our Juries said this made the Judicial Review “twice as likely to succeed” as she now has four grounds on which to appeal rather than two.
A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said:
“We’re announcing a significant escalation. This is set to be the most widespread mass civil disobedience across the UK in modern British history, stretching from city centres to small towns across the country, in open defiance of this authoritarian and unjust ban.
“These historic mobilisations will honour those already imprisoned for risking everything to disrupt the flow of arms to Israel and stands in unwavering solidarity with them.
“As the latest UN report makes devastatingly clear, both Conservative and Labour governments have been shamefully complicit in the horrors unfolding in Gaza. The use of counter-terror legislation to silence and criminalise people acting to save lives and expose the UK Government’s violations of international law must end now. The Filton 24 and Brize Norton 5 must be granted immediate bail and full access to the evidence they need to defend themselves.
“Our movement to defy this draconian ban is growing by the thousands and we will not stop until it is overturned.”
The Northampton event will take place on Tuesday, November 18.
By Sarah Ward
A four-day planning inquiry into proposals to build up to 700 homes on the edge of Brackley finishes today.
The large housing development was first referred to the planning inspectorate by developers Ashfield Land, Vulpes Land and Davidsons Developments Ltd in June this year, due to West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) failing to issue a decision on the scheme in time.
The plans would see 35 hectares of greenfield land along the western border of Brackley earmarked for hundreds of homes, as well as areas of public open space, an extension to Brackley Rugby Union Club, and allotments. Access to the new estate has been proposed from Halse Road and the A422 Brackley roundabout.
WNC previously notified the planning inspector that it would have refused the scheme, had it been in charge of the decision, because there was no satisfactory section 106 legal agreement in place.
Since then, an acceptable section 106 agreement has been entered into, and therefore the council won’t argue that the housing development should be refused permission at the inquiry.
Planning committee members were told at the time that if a suitable legal agreement was reached on the lead up to the inquiry that their reasons for refusal would fall away. They were also warned by officers against putting forward extra reasons for refusal, such as the site not being allocated in the local plan, as they would struggle to defend them at appeal.
Speaking at the opening of the inquiry on Tuesday Sasha White KC, who is representing the appellants, told the planning inspector that it was “an unusual appeal in which, ultimately, the two main parties agree that planning permission should be granted”.
However, the difference in their arguments came down to the developer’s view that WNC does not have a five-year housing land supply and their accusation that the authority’s development plan is not up to date.
Andrew Fraser-Urquhart KC, who spoke on behalf of the council, added:
“The position of both parties is that planning permission ought to be granted. The dispute of the parties is as to the route as to which that planning permission ought to be granted.”
He contended that, even with the council’s development plan applied in full force, the benefits of the housing scheme would outweigh the breach of policy from building on an unallocated site.
Despite the agreeable position from both parties fighting the appeal, the scheme was controversial locally, with more than 100 objections submitted by members of the public. Concerns were raised at the time over a lack of infrastructure, the increase in traffic on local roads and the loss of farmland.
Cllr Fiona Baker (Brackley) attended the inquiry to appeal directly to the inspector to fully review all of the proposals and turn down the scheme.
She said:
“When I was first involved in Brackley 20 years ago, there were just under 8,000 residents. We are now just over 18,000 residents, so I don’t think we can be accused of being ‘Nimbys’.
“Many residents do feel that we in Brackley have done our bit. We have a shortage of doctors, surgeries and no capacity for dental appointments on the NHS at all. A major concern is the roundabout at the bottom of Banbury Road on the A422 is already, and was this morning, heavily congested at peak times.
“I’m hard-pressed to see where the benefit outweighs the disadvantages, as I’m sure many residents will agree with me.”
Alan Mayes, of Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Northamptonshire, also told the hearing that there was no need to sacrifice greenfield sites for housing.
“We believe strongly in the principle of a plan-led system that secures sustainable and well-located growth through public consultation and democratic choice,” he said.
“This proposal for around 700 homes lies wholly outside the settlement confines of Brackley on open greenfield land. CPRE considers the site to form part of the distinct open countryside that defines the western edge of Brackley.”
However, there was some support for the development, with local resident Kevin Blencowe stating that there is “an urgent lack of social housing across the country” and the need for Brackley and other smaller towns to play their part in meeting the housing shortfall.
The inquiry is taking place in the West Northamptonshire Council offices in The Forum, Towcester, and is also live-streamed on the council’s YouTube channel.
The final decision on the plans will be issued after the inquiry through a written report.
Report by Nadia Lincoln
Northamptonshire Rights & Equality Council is collecting community feedback to share with the local councils about public feelings on displays of the Union flag and St George’s Cross in Northants towns and villages.
We have heard that the Government has awarded NN Council +£3m for pot hole repair. Just checking on "Fix My Street" there is an enormous map of work to do and Winter about arrive. In my area NN10 I have reported several times issues and are greeted with silence in return. It is important that this money is spent urgently to remedy the many dangerous problems that residents face. My worry is that the Reform Council led team will not respond quickly and fix these issues even though the cash is available.
It seems that every proposal now is debated along party political lines. This gets us no where and wastes everyone's time.