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“Councils acted instantly when the pandemic struck to address the immediate crisis of getting thousands of rough sleepers off the streets to protect them from the spread of coronavirus."

Cllr David Fothergill, responds to the announcement of Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy as the new Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England and the formal launch of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.

As pupils have broken up from school, 119,830 children in England will be living in temporary accommodation during the end-of-year break, according to latest government figures.

“COVID-19 has cruelly exposed and exacerbated the many social and health problems which existed before the pandemic, that need to be urgently addressed as part of our national recovery."

“We want to work closely with government on a cross-departmental homelessness prevention strategy, which sees councils supported with long-term funding to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place, with the changes to welfare benefits introduced following the coronavirus outbreak maintained for as long as they are needed.”

“Every life lost to COVID-19 is a tragedy and it is heartbreaking for families who lost loved ones who were living in care homes and unable to be as close to them in their final moments, as we would all wish, due to restrictions."

COVID-19’s expected long-term health impact needs to be recognised in future public health and social care planning.

"Whilst we are all keen to get back to normal as soon as possible, we all still need to remain vigilant and use common sense wherever necessary."

Councils in England spent £142 million placing homeless households in bed and breakfasts in 2019/20, compared with £26.7 million in 2010/11 - a 430 per cent increase.

The LGA warns that text and call-based scams are on the rise and urges everyone to remind themselves of tell-tale signs that you may have been contacted by a scammer.