• BOROUGHS will continue to face massive budget pressures.

Many are struggling to balance their budgets and the chancellor’s Autumn Statement leaves them teetering on the edge.

London’s homelessness emergency is a key concern. After years of campaigning for an increase in Local Housing Allowance, we welcome the decision to end the freeze.

Boosting LHA is essential for helping low-income Londoners pay their rent and avoid homelessness. This is good news for London renters and for boroughs’ hard-pressed homelessness services.

But with one in 50 Londoners currently homeless and living in temporary accommodation arranged by their local borough, the housing crisis remains a critical risk to town hall budgets.

Enormous and growing pressures can also be seen across other vital services, especially adult and children’s social care.

We will keep pushing for more funding support in the face of these ongoing challenges, as well as the long-term reforms to local government finance that are crucial for sustaining London’s local services in the years to come.

CLLR CLAIRE HOLLAND
Acting Chair
London Councils