Leader hails 'extraordinary' response to temporary accommodation financial crisis
End to government financial support confirmed
This is the result of savings achieved, and wider operational decisions taken by the authority, which is paying back the borrowed money used to support services in the town during the homelessness emergency.
In 2023/24, homelessness in the UK soared and the council was forced to spend 49p in every pound of council tax collected on temporary accommodation. Councillor Stephen Holt led a national campaign, with hundreds of other councils joining his call for more support from the government and the development of a national homelessness strategy. Subsequently, the government removed the unfair interest charged on the additional borrowing that many councils received, and more recently confirmed the implementation of a plan for rough sleeping and homelessness.
Councillor Holt said:
"This is a huge achievement for this authority that has only been achieved thanks to the support of our community. It's been an extraordinary response and I'm grateful to everyone for playing their part, whether that's the people we consulted with during this period, residents who campaigned and my council colleagues - thanks are owed to all of them.
"I know how difficult these last few years have been, caused by historic years of a failure of national government to properly pay for core services such as the support required during COVID 19 and the homelessness crisis. This demanded difficult decisions, but our hand was forced to avert the real possibility of government-enforced closures.
"Over 40 councils have claimed exceptional financial support since 2020, but I am not aware of any other council that has repaid it as we have. And now we learn that East Sussex County Council is seeking a staggering £70 million from the government in financial support this year."
Councillor Holt has written to the Secretary of State for Local Government, Steve Reed, calling again on the government to lift the Local Housing Allowance cap. This subsidy is paid to the council when a person is placed in temporary accommodation but in most instances is capped at 90% of rates set in 2011, which are substantially less than costs in 2026. Additionally, Councillor Holt is urging that Local Housing Allowance levels be adjusted to match current market rates, following their freeze in 2025/26.
Councillor Daniel Butcher, Cabinet Member for Finance, said:
"In addition to the deeply unfair cap, the previous government was charging interest on the financial resources we borrowed, all of which we have paid back.
"It was nothing short of loan sharking, made even worse when you consider it was funding the statutory services that we have a duty to deliver. The current government was right to put an end to the practice, and I hope they will go a step further and lift the 2011 cap."
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