Observer column: 5 July 2024

By the time you read this we will know who is to lead our new government. Whoever is in charge, we must make it a priority to reset the relationship between central government and local government. The Local Government Association, which is a membership organisation made up of all tiers of local councils, has made a case for what that should look like.

Local governments are often seen as a universal safety net for the communities they serve. They are relied upon across the nation by individuals and families who are at crisis point. Yet too often councils are not valued or funded such that they can deliver on these expectations. Homelessness is a prime example.

Across the UK, in 2023 "no fault" Section 21 evictions threatened 26,000 households with homelessness. In Hastings we have hundreds of homeless families partly because of overuse of this law. The last government stated its intention to end no fault evictions. The next one needs to make it happen.

Nationally, the number of households living in temporary accommodation has risen by more than 90 percent over the past decade. Spending on temporary accommodation has spiralled to more than £1.75 billion. Most of this cost can't be recouped by councils due to limits on the temporary accommodation subsidy, which is frozen at 90 percent of 2011 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates. An essential and easy reform would be a commitment to uprate these subsidies to the 30th percentile of local rents beyond 2025/26.

So we need a national - and honest - debate about the huge gap between what local communities require and what local governments are currently funded to deliver. We need to ask central government some fundamental questions about what it expects from local government and to demand that it provide long-term funding rather than forcing councils to exist from hand to mouth.

The council will hold cabinet meetings on the next two Mondays (having missed a meeting due to the election). Members of the public are free ask questions at the beginning of the meetings. This Monday we will be agreeing to a public consultation on the current dog restrictions on our beaches. Until a decision is made, the current restrictions will stand because the public space protection orders that concern them are legally binding. The rest of the meeting will be taken up with reports on our finances and how this council will tackle risk.

On Tuesday 23 July at 6pm the public will hear from Southern Water on their investment plans for the town to improve water quality and provide solutions to the infrastructure failures that they have been responsible for over the past few years. Make sure you submit your questions by 12 July; there will be a chance to ask follow-up questions on the night. The meeting will be live-streamed from the council chamber, so those who can't attend in person can watch from home.