The Home Office told us that it was not “cloth-eared” to the issues that local authorities faced, and that it included the challenges facing local authorities as part of its assessment of which hotels to close and in what order, but could not take responsibility for the whole housing market. It said it was now liaising directly with local authorities “in a way that perhaps in the early days we [the Home Office] were not”. It explained that local authorities now have a “place-based visibility ...

The Home Office told us that it was not “cloth-eared” to the issues that local authorities faced, and that it included the challenges facing local authorities as part of its assessment of which hotels to close and in what order, but could not take responsibility for the whole housing market. It said it was now liaising directly with local authorities “in a way that perhaps in the early days we [the Home Office] were not”. It explained that local authorities now have a “place-based visibility tool” where they can see all the accommodation occupied.39 There are also liaison officers working with all local authorities to understand the challenge Type: conclusion | Number: 23 | Response status: accepted Government response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 The Home Office will establish a working group with the Local Government Association and Local Authority Chief Executive regional leads to address issues raised at the nation