Briefings and responses

The current Household Support Fund (HSF), which contributed £840 million to English councils’ provision of local welfare support in 2023/24, is set to end on 31 March 2024.

Our call on Government to make the scheme work for everyone.

It is concerning that bill does not make non-discretionary provision for new burdens funding for lead enforcement authorities. It is vital that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) conducts a full assessment of the resources councils need to effectively administer the redress scheme and the costs of setting up a scheme. New burdens funding should then be allocated accordingly.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities held a consultation from 23 January to 20 February 2024 which sought views on the design and implementation of the building safety levy, which will apply to certain new residential buildings requiring building control approval in England.

The Local Government Association welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation on Awaab’s Law. We support the principle that everyone deserves a safe, decent, warm, and affordable place to live and that health hazards should be investigated and fixed in a timely manner.

Working in partnership with Government, local government can help deliver much needed high-quality housing to achieve the Government’s goal of 300,000 new homes per year.

We are calling on Government to do more to rapidly build more genuinely affordable homes to help families struggling to meet housing costs, provide homes to rent, reduce homelessness and tackle the housing waiting lists many councils have.

The Department for Housing, Levelling Up and Communities held a consultation from 30 January to 26 March 2024 on proposed changes to the social housing allocation system, and proposals relating to existing tenants living in social housing.

The LGA is concerned that a number of amendments to the Renters Reform Bill could weaken key measures, including the ban on ‘no fault’ evictions, the redress scheme and essential enforcement measures. We urge the Government to make progress with the Bill and bring an urgent end to Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.