To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the merits of introducing a separate needs formula for homelessness.

The previous government committed to improving and updating the way in which local authorities are funded through the “fair funding review” - but this was not delivered. We will make good on this commitment and implement long-awaited reforms through a multi-year settlement in 2026-27.

We invited views from the local government sector through the “local authority funding reform objectives and principles consultation”, which was open from 18 December 2024 to 12 February 2025. It sought views on the approach to local authority funding reform to be implemented via the Local Government Finance Settlement from 2026-27.

We will be consulting on more detailed proposals, including our proposed relative needs formulae, following the Spending Review in June.