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“We are pleased that the Government is continuing to work with the LGA and councils on funding to help families move to their own homes, reduce homelessness risks and help local partners acquire more housing."

It is of concern to councils that this review has found that some groups may have been more impacted than others by the introduction of Voter ID, with a small number being left unable to vote

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.

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.

We have raised concerns about councils being asked to commit to numbers of arrivals or propose a cap. It might be difficult for councils to predict potential arrival numbers across both asylum and resettlement and therefore their capacity to support new arrivals and the additional housing needed.

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

“Levelling up has great potential to transform people’s lives and livelihoods, with councils best placed to make this happen."

“It is positive to see that places which had been overlooked in previous rounds have been included on the strength of their previous bids and that culture is given the extra recognition it deserves in strengthening pride-in-place."

According to Home Office data, there were around 90,000 decisions on older cases forecasted to be made before the end of December 2023. The pace and scale of the Home Office’s decision-making means that large numbers of people are already and will continue to turn to councils for support.

"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."