because the number of people declaring themselves homeless has doubled. Temporary housing provided by the council, in line with its legal duties, is pricey.
Some councils worry that later this month they will face another pressure when Afghan asylum seekers will be forced out of Home Office-funded hotels and into council-funded temporary housing. One problem with council finances is the sheer lack of visibility they receive. Partly this is due to the sad hollowing-out of local newspapers, though there are some excellent exceptions .
What hasn’t helped is the perception of pork-barrel politics, as the Tory government channeled cash from “levelling-up” funds to Conservative-held Westminster seats.boasting in Tunbridge Wells that as chancellor he changed “a bunch of formulas from Labour that shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas” and instead opted to “make sure areas like this are getting the funding they deserved”.