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“Councils want the very best for the children in their care and care leavers. Regulating all accommodation for these young people up to the age of 18 is a positive step towards ensuring they live in the right homes for their needs."

Responding to the announcement that all new housing developments must meet local standards of beauty, quality and design, Cllr David Renard, housing spokesperson for the LGA, said: “We look forward to seeing the details of the draft national design code and the new Office for Place. We want to continue to work with the Government to get these proposals right. “Councils need to be at the forefront of a locally determined planning system which meets the housing needs and aspirations of their communities, and support proposals that go some way to facilitating that. “Along with government, we

“These findings reinforce why it is essential that accessible and adaptable housing for older and disabled people is a key part of our national ambition to build new homes, and we support calls to raise the minimum accessibility standards for new housing."

“This independent report rightly backs our long-standing concerns over the detrimental impact on local communities of rules allowing home conversions without planning permission. It provides further evidence on why it is more vital than ever that planning should remain local."

The Local Government Association is launching the sixth year of the Housing Advisers Programme, an innovative scheme to help councils overcome housing challenges in their local areas.

The programme, which opens for bids today, boosts council capacity through the provision of independent expertise for councils undertaking specific projects to tackle the effects of the housing crisis in local communities – including on housing delivery, planning for homes, and reducing homelessness.

The Local Government Association is launching its third year of the Housing Advisers Programme, an innovative scheme to help councils overcome housing challenges in their local areas, with bids invited from today.

“We urge the Government to stay the course and abolish Section 21 notices to provide renters greater security.”

Communities could have missed out on nearly 30,000 affordable homes in the past five years if proposed government planning reforms were in place, new analysis by the LGA reveals today.

The LGA said councils want to work with the Government to tackle the housing shortage and ensure new housing meets the needs of communities. As part of this, it is calling on permitted development rules to be scrapped and local communities to be allowed to have a vital say on new developments in their area.