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“With the vast majority of refugee children aged 16 or 17, this change in funding needs to be followed through so that care leaving costs, which are equal to or greater than those of non-UASC, are fully funded, as this remains the main barrier to councils taking on responsibility for ever-growing numbers."

"Councils work incredibly hard to support asylum and resettlement and have helped communities welcome around 200,000 Ukrainian refugees since the start of the war two years ago."

"It is good that councils have been given the delivery responsibilities for this scheme. They are at the heart of their local communities and are best-placed to bring together partners to deliver improvements to their local areas."

“The LGA has been raising concerns with government on the growing number of Ukrainians presenting as homeless to councils, and in particular the significant rise in those who arrived through the Homes for Ukraine scheme as their six month period with hosts ends", says Chairman of the Local Government Association, Cllr James Jamieson.

Responding to the immigration minister Robert Jenrick’s announcement that fifty hotels will be closed to asylum seekers by January, Cllr Shaun Davies, Chair of the Local Government Association said: “Councils have a proud history of supporting humanitarian efforts and continue to work hard to protect and support refugees and help deliver a wide range of government asylum and resettlement schemes. Councils share the government’s ambitions to end hotel use for asylum seekers. “Hotel closures have a direct impact on councils and local government wants to play an active role in working with

“Ensuring councils have a range of tools at their disposal will allow them to work quickly to help suppress the virus in their communities and take action before it is too late."

“We support the Gould Principle whereby electoral law should not be changed within six months of an election that the change would impact.”

We are urging the Government to finally address the future of remote and hybrid council meetings.

The number of local councillors who have reported feeling at risk in their role due to rising levels of abuse and intimidation has increased to a new high in the last year.

One in 10 councils surveyed had a councillor who had stepped down in their authority since May 2021 due to the requirement for them to attend council meetings in-person.