Publications

Local government is at the heart of the nation’s response to homelessness – we are house builders, housing enablers, and landlords, responsible guardians for people experiencing homelessness and care needs, support providers, and place-shapers; and we are democratically accountable to communities.

The LGA and Local Partnerships worked with Leeds and Cornwall Councils during 2022 to build a case for investment in homelessness prevention. The work included starting to develop a clearer understanding of what approaches have worked in homelessness prevention, how much they cost, what costs may have been avoided, and some of the benefits accrued by their implementation.

COVID-19 has shown there is an urgent need for government to ensure that councils and local partners have the necessary funding to enable timely and effective home adaptations for older and disabled people, to help ensure their safety, wellbeing and independence during and beyond the pandemic.

The One Public Estate (OPE) programme is a partnership between the Office of Government Property in Cabinet Office, the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

In the 2020 Spending Review, the Chancellor announced a new Brownfield Land Release Fund to support local authorities bring forward sites for housing development and self and custom-build serviced plots. In response the One Public Estate programme launched the Self and Custom Build Fund.

£15 million funding boost to enable the public sector to work together to support building new homes

The #HighStreetChallenge aims to put the property sector’s future leaders at the heart of solving one of the biggest challenges facing our towns and cities.

Up to £180 million Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 (BLRF2) capital grant funding is available to all English councils over a three-year period to support the release of council-owned brownfield land for housing.

The planning system has been reformed five times since the Second World War but this has had little effect on house building.

The planning system is vital for shaping the future growth of our society. Where it works well, it is one of the best tools that we have to unlock economic growth and to deliver the homes and jobs that are needed in our towns and cities.