Rayner: Councils to Get More Power to Fight Homelessness

The UK's housing secretary, Angela Rayner, has announced that local councils will be granted additional powers to address homelessness, in a move unveiled at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

Rayner said the new measures were designed to eliminate what she described as 'Tory barriers' — rules introduced under the previous Conservative government that, she argued, had prevented local leaders from effectively tackling the issue.

While specific details of the new powers were not fully outlined, the announcement signals a broader shift in strategy, giving local authorities greater autonomy to design and implement their own responses to housing insecurity.

Homelessness has remained a persistent and worsening problem across the UK, with councils frequently citing a lack of resources and restrictive regulations as obstacles to progress.

By framing the reforms as the removal of barriers rather than the introduction of new funding, Rayner appears to be positioning the change as a structural, rather than purely financial, solution.

The announcement came amid a series of policy pledges at the conference, reflecting a wider Labour push to increase public and local control over key services.

Andy Burnham, a prominent Labour figure, also used the conference to unveil plans to reverse privatisation in the energy sector. He proposed a government-backed body that would invest directly in the electricity grid, rolling back decades of private ownership in the industry.

Taken together, the two announcements suggest a coordinated effort by senior Labour figures to emphasise public sector empowerment, whether through expanded local government authority or renewed state involvement in national infrastructure.

The Labour conference has served as a platform for the party to detail its policy direction ahead of future legislative efforts, with housing and energy emerging as key themes this year.

Further specifics on how the new council powers regarding homelessness will be implemented, including any associated funding or timelines, are expected to be clarified in the coming weeks.

Critics and supporters alike are likely to scrutinise how effectively these structural changes translate into measurable reductions in homelessness rates across the country.