£950m allocated for Local Authority Fund

The spending review has confirmed £950m for a fourth round of a fund to help councils increase temporary accommodation.

The funding for the Local Authority Fund is the largest allocation yet, coming on the back of £500m in the first wave, £250m in round two and £450m in the third round.

The spending review document said: “The government is also providing £950 million of capital investment for a fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund, between 2026-27 and 2029-30, over the spending review to support local authorities in England to increase the supply of good quality temporary accommodation and drive down the use of costly bed and breakfasts and hotels.”

Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute for Housing, said: “The additional £950 million for the Local Authority Housing Fund will help improve both the quality and supply of temporary accommodation while new affordable homes are delivered. We know more is needed to stabilise and unlock capacity in Housing Revenue Accounts, and look forward to working with government to support local authorities in their vital work to deliver for local communities.”

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The government also announced £100 million for early interventions to prevent homelessness, including through the transformation fund.

Government data last year showed the number of households with children in temporary accommodation in England is at its highest since records began 22 years ago.

At-a-glance: the key spending review measures for housing and construction 

  •  £39bn for a new 10-year Affordable Homes Programme
  •  A 10-year rent settlement under which annual rents increase by CPI plus 1%
  •  A consultation on re-introducing rent convergence
  •  £2.5bn in low interest loans for social housing providers to boost their development capacity
  •  An additional 10 billion pounds for financial investments, including to be delivered through Homes England “to crowd in private investment”
  •  £950 million of investment for the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund increase the supply of temporary accommodation
  • A re-commitment of £13.2bn to the Warm Homes Plan to upgrade homes
  • Protecting spending on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping, and providing £100 million, including from the Transformation  Fund, for early interventions to prevent homelessness
  •  Establishing a new local growth fund for specific mayoral city regions in the North and Midlands
  • Investing in up to 350 deprived communities across the UK, to “fund interventions including community cohesion, regeneration and improving the public realm”.
  • Resource budget for MHCLG to fall 1.4% between 2025/26 and 2028/29
  • Savings identified through the Treasury’s zero based review include cutting communications and marketing spending by 70%
  • MHCLG has identified £50 million of technical efficiencies by 2028-29, to be delivered through workforce and digital reform.
  • £14.2 billion for a new nuclear power station Sizewell C
  • £2.5bn confirmed for Small Modular Reactors as part of its industrial strategy to be published this summer
  • Providing £15.6 billion in total by 2031-32 for the elected mayors of some of England’s largest city regions to invest in local transport plus £2.3bn investment in local transport grant
  • Multi-year settlement for Transport for London totalling £2.2bn
  • £3.5bn for the Transpennine Route Upgrade between Manchester and Leeds.
  • £2.5bn to deliver East West Rail “unlocking the potential of the Oxford to Cambridge growth corridor”

 

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