Councils’ temporary housing costs to more than double by 2029-30, says LGA
The cost to councils of providing temporary accommodation for homeless people in England is projected to more than double to almost £4bn by 2029–30, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said.The national membership body for councils found that since 2017-18, local authorities across England had spent almost £1.5bn more on temporary accommodation (TA) than had been reimbursed in housing benefit from the government.Without intervention, this figure is set to balloon to £3.9bn in the next four years, the LGA said as it urged the government to take action to help councils facing soaring demand and funding pressures.
It also found that the annual cost to councils of TA was set to grow by 65% in the next five years, from nearly £360m to £595m.Tom Hunt, the chair of the LGA’s inclusive growth committee and leader of Sheffield city council, said the TA “subsidy gap is a problem that is getting worse each year”.“Because of this ever-widening issue, councils are caught in a vicious cycle of ever-increasing temporary accommodation costs versus static rates they receive back to cover their costs,” he said.The scale of the temporary accommodation crisis in England, in which homeless people are placed in hotels, B&Bs or self-contained flats, shows no sign of abating after soaring to record levels following the Covid pandemic.Last week, data showed the number of children living in temporary accommodation had increased to the highest levels on record, up 12,020 in a year to 175,990.
More than 130,000 households live in TA in total.Local authorities cover the cost of temporary accommodation, and the amount they can claim back from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is capped at 90% of local housing allowance (LHA) rates set back in 2011.The LGA said the problem was getting worse as the demand for temporary accommodation rises and councils can claim back less.In 2024-25, councils in England spent a total of £1.27bn on temporary accommodation and were reimbursed £911m by the DWP – leaving a gap of almost £360m.
“We urge the government to uprate housing benefits to 90% of the current [2024] LHA rate,” said Hunt.“This would give a huge boost to council finances, money which could go towards preventing homelessness and building the homes that our communities desperately need.”The LGA said this change would reduce the projected cost increase by 37% and save councils £1.5bn.The government has vowed to reduce the use of temporary accommodation to house people, with the homelessness minister, Alison McGovern, saying she wanted to end the use of B&Bs by the end of the parliament.
Despite calls from across the homelessness sector for a boost, the government has frozen local housing allowance rates until 2026, and instead said building more homes and tackling bad practice in the private rented sector would solve the problem.A government spokesperson said: “We’re tackling the impact of rising rents and the housing shortage with our commitment to build 1.5m homes - including the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation.“We are also investing more than £1bn in homelessness services, launching a cross-government homelessness strategy, and investing a record £39bn in affordable and social housing.”
Shadow of Iraq war lies over Westminster as MPs consider US-Israeli attack on Iran
Calvin Bailey keeps his Iraq medal, issued to members of the British armed forces who served as part of Operation Telic, safe in a drawer in his home. It features a clasp, given to personnel who were part of the very first wave of flights to leave British bases to invade Iraq in March 2003.So when the Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead spoke at a meeting between Labour MPs and the prime minister on Monday evening, people listened. “I was exposed to and aware of all the things that were happening in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq: the groupthink, the sense of unstoppable momentum,” he said on Tuesday. “If you look at what is happening right now, it’s materially different to 2003, but I think I can speak with adequate weight and credibility
‘It’s no news just when we wanted some’: bosses react to spring statement
Amid global volatility, Rachel Reeves tried to project calm with a low-key forecast. But business owners have their doubtsRachel Reeves gave a deliberately low-key spring forecast on Tuesday, in an attempt to project calm amid volatility abroad and after repeated tax rising budgets.But for some business owners struggling with rising costs, a lack of policy announcements this time around was a disappointment.Changes to the business rates system are set to go ahead on 1 April, while Reeves offered little relief for companies still reeling from increases to employment costs last year. Nor was there clarity on the long-delayed defence investment plan, a key part of promises to increase spending
Reeves’s spring statement? The economy is great, don’t worry about the Middle East
When your luck is out, your luck is out. Time to accept what the fates have to throw at you. It was always going to be a bit of a stretch for Rachel Reeves to maintain she had a brilliant plan and the economy had never been in better health when the figures show a fall in growth and a rise in unemployment. Unless you happen to think those things aren’t so bad after all.To do so three days after the beginning of Donald Trump’s Awfully Big Iranian Adventure when oil and gas prices are rising, the bond markets are in turmoil and stock markets around the world are falling, begins to look a bit previous
UK considering sending warship to Cyprus; government to charter flight from Oman ‘in the coming days’– as it happened
You can now read the full story on our earlier reports in the blog that the government is considering sending warship HMS Duncan to Cyprus, here:John Healey, the defence secretary, is considering sending a Royal Navy destroyer to Cyprus to help defend British bases there after several apparently hostile drones targeted RAF Akrotiri on the island.Defence sources said a deployment of HMS Duncan, currently in Portsmouth, was under discussion as a way to better protect the base in Cyprus – though another said it was possible one of two other destroyers might be sent as an alternative.HMS Duncan is specialised in counter-drone operations and last month was engaged on a test exercise off the coast of Wales facing swarms of drones, before hosting a family day on Friday. It is not clear how ready it is to set sail.John Healey, the defence secretary, is considering sending a Royal Navy destroyer to Cyprus to help defend British bases there after several apparently hostile drones targeted RAF Akrotiri on the island
Starmer vows to avoid ‘mistakes of Iraq’ that have haunted Labour for decades
Tony Blair’s support for the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 has long loomed like a spectre over the Labour party.It was present in 2013 when Ed Miliband as opposition leader voted to block UK military action against the Syrian regime.And it was there again on Monday when Keir Starmer assured MPs that the government remembered the “mistakes of Iraq” and would always operate on a “lawful basis” and with a “viable thought-through plan”to the crisis erupting in the Middle East.The implication from the prime minister was clear: he does not think the initial US and Israeli strikes against Iran were either legal or considered. “This government does not believe in regime change from the skies,” he told the Commons
After failing to win the peace prize, Trump turns his focus to Nobel prize for war | John Crace
Maybe we should have just had done with it back in December. Instead of offering a polite reservation, every western country should have sent a full, state delegation to Norway. Begging, imploring the Nobel Committee to award Donald Trump the peace prize. We could all have chipped in a couple of billion just to make it even more worth winning.And if that wasn’t enough, we could have twisted the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, to upgrade his “Peaceiest Ever President” award to the “Makes Jesus Look Second Rate” prize
UK motor fuel prices rise since Middle East conflict began, and energy bills could jump 10% in July – business live
War in Middle East ‘could wipe out growth in UK living standards’
Europe’s next-generation fighter jet project may collapse if row continues, says warplane maker
Google faces lawsuit after Gemini chatbot allegedly instructed man to kill himself
South Africa v New Zealand: T20 World Cup cricket semi-final – live
Dennis Cometti was erudite, funny and engaging. His witticisms could fill a library