Briefings and responses

Councils want to end homelessness and are already doing everything they can within existing resources to prevent and tackle it, but there is no silver bullet and councils alone cannot tackle rising homelessness.

In the longer term the LGA is calling for a shift towards investing in homelessness prevention measures. This includes maintaining increased support through the mainstream benefits system, increased protection for private renters, and a commitment across government to a programme of homelessness prevention.

Councils have a proud history of welcoming new arrivals so that they can build new lives in the UK and have huge range of expertise that has informed the development and delivery of that support.

The LGA’s view is that the best way to increase housing security is to address the unaffordability of housing, which is a key reason why many people lose their tenancy and become homeless.  

The national housing shortage is one of the most pressing issues we face. The last time this country built more than 250,000 homes a year, councils built more than 40 per cent of them.

The LGA has called on the Government to provide councils with the powers and tools to reverse the chronic shortage of social housing, including giving councils powers to build 100,000 high-quality, climate-friendly social homes a year.

It has been councils’ priority to ensure that lessons from Grenfell are learned and that swift action is taken to ensure that every tenant has access to a safe and high-quality home.

We are pleased that the Government has listened to the concerns raised by the LGA, as well as in the report of the joint select committee inquiry, and decided not to apply the Local Housing Allowance Rate to supported housing or wider social housing.

The provision of supported housing is vital to ensuring vulnerable people live in suitable homes that meet their personal and all-round housing, health and care needs.

Local government wants to end homelessness by preventing it happening in the first place, and supports the Government’s ambition to halve rough sleeping.