The increasing cost of homelessness could lead to more councils being forced to declare effective bankruptcy and the ‘end of local government’, council leaders have said.
A meeting of 50 council leaders in Westminster yesterday warned of an impending ‘national crisis’ if more isn’t done to help councils meet the rising costs of temporary accommodation.
Cllr Stephen Holt, the summit’s chair and leader of Eastbourne Borough Council, said after the meeting: ‘Our first summit was attended by council leaders of all political parties, all with the same problem that we can't continue to provide vital frontline services and achieve a balanced budget unless we get immediate financial support.’
Temporary accommodation costs in Eastbourne have increased from £1.4m in 2018/19 to £4.9m in 2023/24 – 30% of the council's total £15m spending power.
In a statement issued yesterday, Eastbourne BC warned ‘the situation was even more severe in many other local authorities, making more s114 notices inevitable in the coming weeks.’
According to the BBC, Michael Jones, Labour leader of Crawley Borough Council, told the meeting: ‘I don't think it is over-dramatic given the pressures facing councils to tell the Government that they are presiding over the end of local government if they fail to take the urgent action needed.’
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) spokesperson said that councils were ‘ultimately responsible for their own finances’, adding that the Government was willing to talk to any that were concerned about their financial position.
‘We recognise councils are facing challenges and that is why we have announced a £64bn funding package – an above inflation increase at an average of 6.5% – to ensure they can continue making a difference, alongside our combined efforts to level up.’
If this article was of interest, then check out, 'Can local government take much more?', 'Preventing future Section 114 notices' and 'How to fix local government finance'.
