Homelessness Reduction Bill
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Marcus Jones)
I am today updating the House on a commitment I made at Second Reading of the Homelessness Reduction Bill—the private Members’ Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman)—to fund the costs of the Bill in line with the new burdens doctrine. Estimated new burdens costs of the Homelessness Reduction Bill Year 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 Net cost £35.4 million* £12.1 million* £0 *Rounding means these are summed to £48 million.
I can confirm that the Government will provide £48 million to local government to meet the new burdens costs associated with the Bill over the course of the spending review. It is estimated that offsetting savings to local authorities will mean there are no costs thereafter. This reflects the cost of the Bill in its current form. I will continue to monitor the Bill as it proceeds through the House and will update the new burdens assessment as appropriate once the Bill is in its final form.
The Government have been working with local councils and the Local Government Association to test the methodology behind the estimated costs, as well as the core assumptions within it.
We will continue to work with local councils and the Local Government Association to develop the distribution model for the funding. This will reflect differing need in different authorities.
I also intend to consider the case for making available a small amount of further funding for local authorities in high-pressure areas to manage the transition to the new duties in the Bill.
This would be in addition to the level of funding provided to meet our commitment to fund new burdens.
[HCWS418]