Briefings and responses

The nation is facing a housing crisis. Dealing with the crisis is vital if we are to ensure that all residents are able to benefit from economic growth.

To help councils and combined authorities close their skills gaps the Government should enable them to coordinate a localised approach to skills. This includes loosening Apprenticeship Levy restrictions. We welcome announcements made on this in the 2018 Budget, but the Government must now go further and faster. 

Challenges caused by the systematic underfunding of early years provision are being exacerbated by the rising cost of living and inflationary pressures. This is negatively impacting the financial viability of early years providers and the quality of, and access to, childcare provision.

Challenges caused by the systematic underfunding of early years provision are being exacerbated by the rising cost of living and inflationary pressures. This is negatively impacting the financial viability of early years providers, the quality and access of childcare provision, and the availability of good support for children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND).

The combination of inflation, wage stagnation and real-terms cuts to benefits is pushing an increasing number of people into food insecurity.

Loneliness is a problem for people of all ages throughout the life course. It does not just affect older people.

The ability of local government to take the lead on climate change is restricted by financial constraints on councils, a lack of devolved powers, challenges with monitoring and implementation and a lack of awareness of the agenda.

Single parents – the majority of which are women (90 percent) – and their children are more likely to be in poverty than any other type of household.

While the LGA welcomes the money to pilot new approaches and build on existing good practice, we question whether the scale of the investment matches the scale of the ambition. Any positive outcomes emanating from the pilots must be given sustainable long-term funding.

Homelessness is a tragedy for all those it affects and is one of the most visible signs of the nation’s housing crisis. Local government wants to end homelessness by preventing it happening in the first place. We support the Government’s ambition to halve rough sleeping.