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 Bill cannot come soon enough as our broken building safety system needs reforms to be enshrined in tough new legislation. Residents have a right to be safe and to feel safe in their own homes, and the construction industry and those with legal duties now need to deliver the cladding remediation work required.
Our latest analysis demonstrates that homelessness support (including temporary accommodation) faces a funding gap of £110 million in 2019/20, and £421 million in 2024/25.
There are currently 83,700 homeless households in need of temporary accommodation and other forms of support from local authorities.
The Department for Housing, Levelling Up and Communities held a consultation from 13 February to 26 March 2024 on proposed changes to national planning policies related to brownfield land in the National Planning Policy Framework, and reviewing the threshold for referral of applications to the Mayor of London.
The LGA, along with 29 other bodies across the sector, have written to government to urge them not to introduce the proposed Infrastructure Levy (IL). We have significant concerns that the proposed IL will result in fewer, not more, affordable homes delivered, will expose councils to excessive levels of financial risks, and be increasingly burdensome and complex for local authorities to implement and manage. The signatories propose that retention and improvement of the current developer contribution system is the most appropriate solution.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities held a consultation from 23 January to 20 February 2024 which sought views on the design and implementation of the building safety levy, which will apply to certain new residential buildings requiring building control approval in England.
The LGA and ADASS welcomes the Government’s decision not to apply the Local Housing Allowance Rate to supported housing or wider social housing. The consultation is an opportunity to strengthen local commissioning and deliver a sustainable funding solution that maintains and grows supply in accordance with local need.
In August 2020, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) published the Planning for the Future White Paper with proposals for long-term fundamental structural changes to England’s planning system.
The LGA believes that the New Homes Bonus (Bonus) should be separately funded and not drawn from a top slice of Revenue Support Grant or other grants. Drawing the Bonus from a top slice of RSG means that those councils who are unable to deliver homes above the baseline threshold lose out on core funding distributed on the basis of need.