‘Unsustainable’ pressure from homelessness
Record homelessness levels are placing unsustainable pressure on local authorities, the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee has warned.
Record homelessness levels are placing unsustainable pressure on local authorities, the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee has warned.
Government subsidies towards councils’ temporary accommodation costs – currently stuck at 2011 levels – need to be “urgently addressed” in the face of rising homelessness, the LGA has warned.
Local leaders quizzed government ministers about devolution, adult social care, homelessness, special needs education and transport, climate change and roads at last week’s LGA Councillors’ Forum.
The percentage of councils’ total housing budget being spent on homelessness and temporary accommodation has more than tripled since 2015, according to LGA analysis.
Councils in England face a £332 million shortfall in funding to tackle youth homelessness, the charity Centrepoint has claimed.
More than a fifth (22 per cent) of Afghans who had been living in bridging hotels in England and Wales have presented to councils as homeless, an LGA survey has found.
The Government has launched a second round of funding for councils to help resettle new arrivals to the UK and reduce the risk of homelessness.