Briefings and responses

Over recent decades, construction of new homes has failed to keep pace with population growth and social changes. At the same time, there are currently not enough affordable homes to meet current demand with more than 1.32 million households on council waiting lists in England and over 109,000 households living in temporary accommodation.

The free school meals system is an important component of the support that is provided to low income families and the broader work to tackle health inequalities and rising food insecurity.

Councils want to work with government on developing and funding a better system for accommodating and supporting asylum seekers.

We are pleased that the Government has listened to the LGA and councils and decided not to significantly reduce the flexibilities in how councils collect waste from people’s homes.

It is good to see that Defra’s recognises the need for urgency after a long period of delay, but decisions made without proper consideration of the evidence may have unforeseen consequences for councils.

The Department for Housing, Levelling Up and Communities held a consultation from 6 March to 1 May 2024 on the proposed introduction of an accelerated planning service, changes to the use of extension of time agreements, expanding the written appeals process, and introducing section 73B applications to vary planning permissions.

Sport and leisure play a positive role in promoting the health and well-being of people and their communities, with local councils continuing to work hard to provide these services despite financial constraints.

The LGA supports the Government’s amendments to introduce a mandatory duty on certain professionals to report child sexual abuse (CSA) as part of a holistic approach to improving the response to CSA. While it is a positive step forward, the duty must not be considered a silver bullet nor introduced in isolation. It must be supported by wider national action to ensure all professionals are trained to identify abuse, support victims to disclose abuse and ensure they receive the best possible support when they do.

We have argued for the Bill to go further in supporting tenants’ rights and providing stronger regulatory and enforcement powers, and for government to ensure sufficient funding councils to enforce these measures and fully realise our shared ambition for a fairer, more secure, and higher quality PRS.