Oxford City Council calling on funding settlement from government
The council say they're at 'crisis point' amid rising costs and increasing pressures
Oxford City Council are calling for a funding settlement from Sir Kier Starmer’s Labour government as they face 'crisis point' amid rising costs and increasing pressures.
The City Council say they are looking at dealing with an overspend of more than £2m for the costs of temporary accommodation.
‘Local government is in crisis’
Cllr Ed Turner, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance said: “Temporary accommodation are for people who are in acute housing and often being made homeless because their rent is going up to a level that they can’t afford.
“So, they’re being asked to leave their properties and quite rightly, they turn to the local council for assistance but that’s a really significant cost pressure. Our net budget is £24m and our gross budget is around £80m, so it’s a huge amount in that context and we simply can’t help and can’t cope on our own.
“Local government is in crisis, communities are at the sharp end, and they’ll suffer if we don’t get a proper funding settlement. So that’s what we need.”
Findings from the Local Government Association
There are also worries across the country that rising costs and increasing pressures are pushing local council’s budgets to the brink across the country, according to an analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA).
The new report from the LGA finds there are a combination of different pressures and financial challenges which are plunging the future of council housing in serious doubt.
Therefore, many councils face the impossible choice between Housing Revenue Accounts (HRAs) going into deficit or failure to meet statutory repair obligations. This includes the newly proposed Awaab’s Law which will require landlords to fix reported hazards, such as mould and damp, within specified timescales.
As a result, councils will also be unable to finance the building of new affordable homes to help government achieve its ambition to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.
Ahead of the Autumn Budget, councils and arms-length management organisations (ALMOs) are urging government to restore lost revenue due to the recent rent cap, estimated to be more than £600million.
It’s thought this will help to give councils certainty on rental income and support long-term business planning.
An LGA’s housing Spokesperson, said: “This is the most precarious position that council housing has been in for over a decade, and urgent action is needed to ensure that local government can keep up with its obligations around providing decent quality council housing.”