Briefings and responses

Children should be supported to get the best, not just to get by. It is however increasingly challenging to turn this ambition into a reality when the financial pressures are forcing an increasing number of councils to make difficult decisions about the allocation of limited resources.

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.

The LGA has called for the Government to introduce a mandatory levy on the gambling industry to fund research, education and treatment. This view is supported by other organisations, including GambleAware, the charity responsible for minimising gambling-related harm.

We support making the IFRS 9 statutory override permanent or, as a minimum, extending for another five years.

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.

We remain concerned that the introduction of the National Funding Formula, combined with changes to High Needs Funding, will exacerbate existing shortfalls in funding to support children and young people with SEND.

LGA commissioned research found that councils are facing a high needs funding shortfall of £667 million in the 2019-20 financial year and this funding gap could rise to £1.6 billion by 2021.

Smoking prevalence analysis: methodology summary by the LGA Research and Information Team

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.