Responding to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s report on
Destitution, revealing that 1.5 million people in the UK face
destitution, Cllr Nick Forbes, Senior Vice-Chair of the Local
Government Association, said:
“This reports highlights some of the significant pressures being
faced by low-income households up and down the country.
“Councils target services to help those in need of support and
prevent them reaching crisis point but this is becoming
increasingly challenging against a backdrop of welfare reforms
and an overall funding gap that will exceed £5 billion by 2020.
The Government needs to restore funding to councils for welfare
assistance schemes so they can provide the local safety net to
help those struggling to cope with welfare reforms, including the
roll out of Universal Credit.
“Councils also need be able to do more to support low income
households to increase their income from employment and access
genuinely suitable and affordable housing. This can be achieved
through a more devolved and integrated approach to employment and
skills, and for closer partnership working between job centres
and councils.
“It is not right that councils are having to house many of those
who have been unable to cope with the reductions in housing
benefit in expensive, unsatisfactory temporary accommodation
because of the lack of affordable housing. Local authorities are
currently housing more than 77,000 homeless families with in
excess of 120,000 homeless children in temporary accommodation.
Councils need to be able to borrow to build new homes and adapt
welfare reforms to prevent homelessness from happening in the
first place.
“The LGA is working with councils, the Centre for Credit and
Money Advice Service to help improve local commissioning of
financial support and debt advice and, alongside the Citizens
Advice Bureau, has developed a joint Council Tax Protocol to
support good practice in debt collection.”
