London Councils
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| Founded | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Chair | Peter John |
| Labour Party | |
| Formerly called | London |
| Headquarters location | London, United Kingdom |
| Locations | Southwark |
| Greater London | |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 1125770 |
About London Councils
London Councils is the local government association for Greater London, England. It is a cross-party organisation that represents London's 32 borough councils and the City of London. It was formed in 1995 as a merger of the London Boroughs Association and the Association of London Authorities.
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... Across the other London borough councils, Transport for London (TfL) and the collective borough representative organisation London Councils, 48% of appeals are successful...
Rising tide of homelessness could bankrupt seaside town
... A decade ago, London Councils were moving their homeless families to the town, as accommodation there was both available and affordable...
Clearsprings: Home Office asylum contractor prices out homeless
... There was no suggestion the Home Office or asylum seekers created the problem, said Labour s Georgia Gould, who chairs London Councils, which represents all local authorities in the city...
More than 20 councils replacing pay and display parking machines with apps
... Half of all London Councils - 16 - have removed some or all of their machines...
London schools close as housing costs push families further out
... Between 2012 and 2021 there was a 17% decrease in London s birth rate, accounting for 23,000 fewer babies in the capital, according to data from London Councils...
TV presenter Sophie Morgan in 'rage at the injustice' of Blue Badge theft
... It is why some London Councils have started moving towards " Companion Passes" which work alongside Blue Badges, but are digital and negate the threat of theft...
Free school meals: London's mayor launches £130m scheme for primary pupils
... " The launch follows similar decisions by London Councils in Newham, Islington, Southwark and Tower Hamlets to offer their own universal primary school free school meals...
ULEZ expansion: London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Martin Lewis row
... The mayor s flagship clean-air policy has been met with opposition from a number of London Councils...
Rising tide of homelessness could bankrupt seaside town
By Michael BuchananSocial affairs correspondent, Bbc News
Councils across England spent More Than ever tackling homelessness in 2022, official data released last week showed. Bbc News has been to Hastings in East Sussex where hundreds of families are in temporary accommodation - a situation The Local council says could push it into bankruptcy.
The Grumpy Café may not sound like the friendliest place to grab a coffee but inside the large, warm meeting place in the centre of Hastings, the atmosphere is anything but crotchety.
" My children Call Me the grumpy cook, and I thought, 'I like that,'" says owner Barry Ashley.
The not-for-profit café is busy most mornings, as locals pop in for coffee and cake, or a more substantial cooked breakfast. The Money made is used to help locals with ever-increasing needs, particularly homelessness.
Every evening Mr Ashley, 60, cooks meals for families in temporary accommodation who don't have cooking facilities in their rooms: " It breaks my heart to see the conditions they're living in. It's really heartbreaking. "
It is an issue close to his heart as half of the Grumpy Cook's eight staff are in temporary accommodation - a home provided by a local authority, often in the private rented sector, supposedly for a short period, but often for years.
Sharing a bedBarista Keira Boorman has been living in a one-bed flat since her 19-month-old daughter was born, and it's a squeeze: " She can't have her own bed because there's not enough room. She spreads herself across The Bed , moving constantly. I don't get much sleep. "
The 19-year-old became homeless after she was no longer able To Live with her mother. Despite working at the Grumpy Cook, she has little hope of finding a place to call her own.
" Most two-bed flats are around £950 a month and making that is nearly impossible as someone who doesn't have a silly amount of savings or earnings. " she says.
" I don't have a guarantor either. They'll give me a viewing, but then pass it [The Flat ] on to to Someone Else . "
Bankruptcy loomingIt's a familiar tale throughout Hastings, a fading seaside resort, among the poorest towns in England.
More Than 500 local families cannot afford a home and are in need of temporary accommodation, a situation that could push Hastings Borough Council into bankruptcy. This small district council will spend £5. 6m housing them this financial year, a quarter of its entire budget.
House prices have almost doubled in Hastings over The Past decade, one of the largest increases in England. At the same time, private rents have soared and The Local Housing Allowance, the maximum amount of housing benefit tenants can receive, has been frozen by ministers since 2020.
" We didn't have a single two-bedroom flat advertised at local housing allowance rates Last Year , " says Chris Hancock , director of housing at Hastings Borough Council. " There is a strong risk this could bankrupt The Council . We cannot make our budget stack up if we continue to have to spend this amount of money on temporary accommodation. "
The Council is spending £11m buying properties to use as temporary accommodation, reducing its need to pay the ever-rising costs private providers are able to charge. Adding to The Problem are the 900 properties available for short-term let, on sites such as Airbnb.
There is a bitter irony to The Situation Hastings finds itself in. A decade ago, London Councils were moving their homeless families to The Town , as accommodation there was both available and affordable.
Figures released by The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities last week show councils in England spent a record amount of money Last Year tackling homelessness.
It shows at least £2. 4bn was spent tackling The Problem in 2022/23. More Than £1. 7bn of that was used to pay for temporary accommodation.
The data also revealed:
Back in The Kitchen of the Grumpy Cook café, Nicola Skinner is helping Barry Ashley Cook sausage and mash. The 33-year-old, her partner and their four children were made homeless in April when her landlord decided to sell the property.
The Family consider themselves lucky, as the temporary accommodation they've been placed in allows their children to stay at the same schools. However, Ms Skinner knows The Council could move them on at any point and fears they won't find anywhere affordable to rent.
" A few of them [letting agents] want incomes of 30 times the monthly rent, which is impossible to reach in Hastings, " he says. " Our Town is too poor to reach the prices they're trying to charge. "
Related TopicsSource of news: bbc.com
