On behalf of its membership, the cross-party LGA regularly submits to Government
consultations, briefs parliamentarians and responds to a wide range of parliamentary inquiries. Our recent
responses to government consultations and parliamentary briefings can be found here.
The current UK financial sector is not well suited for many low-income households. The case for supporting people to access affordable and responsible finance from organisations like credit unions and Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) is clear.
Private rents have reached record highs, with private rents rising an average of five per cent in the 12 months up to May 2023 and more than 25 percent since the start of the pandemic. Rising housing costs are a significant factor in driving financial hardship and homelessness.
Councils are determined that all tenants should have the security of a safe and well-maintained home, with any issues quickly and satisfactorily addressed.
Councils want to work as partners with central government on climate action. Councils are well-placed to do this as place-shapers, convenors of communities and partners, delivery agents, commissioners, and owners of assets. Net zero can only be achieved with decarbonisation happening in every place across the country and this will require local leadership.
Local government would welcome discussions with Government on potential impacts on councils of the Illegal Migration Bill. Consideration of Lords amendments will take place in the House of Commons from 12 July 2023.
Local government would welcome discussions with Government on potential impacts on councils of the Illegal Migration Bill. The Third Reading of the Bill will take place in the House of Lords on 10 July 2023.
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill acts upon long running asks from councils and the LGA for further devolution in England. We are pleased that the Government has proposed to speed up the process and make good on its commitment to offer all of England the opportunity to benefit from a devolution deal by 2030. It is also important that councils of all sizes are engaged in the devolution process.
It has been councils’ priority to ensure that lessons from Grenfell are learned and that swift action is taken to ensure that every tenant has access to a safe and high-quality home.
The LGA supports the overall aims of the Online Safety Bill (OSB), which makes provisions for the regulation by Ofcom of certain internet services. The regulation proposed in this Bill is aimed at ensuring platforms have systems and processes in place to deal with illegal and harmful content and their associated risk, particularly to children and young people. The Bill primarily does this by introducing duties of care to some user-to-user services (e.g. social media sites) and search engines. The Bill also imposes duties on such providers in relation to the protection of users’ rights to freedom of expression and privacy.
Reducing in-work poverty requires significant work to address the wider determinants of low income and barriers to work, such as health. Government should foster an enabling environment by tackling barriers such as lack of quality housing, appropriate infrastructure, and green spaces to improve quality of life.