Former homelessness tsar Dame Louise Casey yesterday launched a Covid Community Campaign to support and coordinate efforts to ensure people do not go hungry over the winter and beyond.

The campaign, which is kicking off in London, is supported by London Councils, the Mayor of London and charities including the Trussell Trust, Fair Share, Magic Breakfast and Social Bite.

London Councils Chair, Cllr Georgia Gould

said: "The impact of Covid on lives, jobs and communities has been devastating. Across London we have seen residents forced into desperate situations, parents going without so their children can eat.

"Councils working with their communities are doing everything we can across the capital to provide a vital safety net. But we need help to meet the scale of the need we are seeing this winter.

"The last year has been tough but it's also shown when we come together to support each other we can do extraordinary things and I know by working together as Londoners we can make sure that no one goes hungry this winter."

If you would like to donate locally, or if you are in need of support, you can find a link to your local council pages here.

The national Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities was established by the government in July and issued a 'call for evidence' in October.

In its submission to the commission this week, London Councils highlighted the proactive role local government should play in tackling inequality and emphasised London boroughs’ determination to make faster progress.  

London Councils’ organisational commitment to driving improvement and supporting boroughs’ work on this agenda is reflected in our statement agreed by Leaders' in October.

London Councils’ Executive Member for Welfare, Empowerment & Inclusion, Cllr Muhammed Butt, said: "We pride ourselves on living in a diverse and multicultural city, but there remain deeply entrenched racial inequalities that cannot be allowed to continue.  

"The events of this year have shown there’s so much more to do on the equality agenda. When the government talks about levelling up the country, that ambition must also include addressing racial inequality and breaking down the barriers that hold back too many Britons.

"Councils have a crucial role to play through providing local leadership, targeting resources, and designing services to support fairer and more inclusive outcomes in our communities. While we acknowledge the enormous scale of the challenge, London boroughs are determined to work together and help secure faster progress. This is going to be a key priority as we shape London’s post-pandemic recovery in the coming months and years.”

London Councils has highlighted the fact that around 90,000 children across London will be spending Christmas in temporary accommodation this year. The capital accounts for around 60 per cent of all homelessness in the country and rates have continued to rise this year.

Darren Rodwell, executive member for housing at London Councils, said: “Homelessness rates are skyrocketing and London faces the most severe crisis in the country.

“These figures are a clear wake-up call that more must be done to tackle homelessness. Although the economic turmoil and job losses brought about by Covid-19 have undoubtedly made the situation worse, with more and more Londoners turning to their council for help, there’s been an upward trend in London’s homelessness rates for many years now.

“Boroughs are doing all we can to support homeless families but to see these numbers come down we need the government to rethink its policies on welfare, invest more money in frontline services, and prioritise building social housing.”

Boroughs recently held a constructive meeting with Sophie Linden, London’s Deputy Mayor for Policing & Crime, on the Mayor’s Action Plan for Transparency, Accountability and Trust in Policing.

The meeting was chaired by London Councils’ Executive Member for Crime and Public Protection, Cllr Jas Athwal, who said: “We welcome the Mayor’s Action Plan and the commitment to addressing concerns in our communities around disproportionality in policing – particularly in relation to young black men.

“We need to see swift progress made on better police engagement with communities, community led training of new police recruits, and more diverse and representative scrutiny - especially on the use of force and stop and search. We’ll continue to work with City Hall and the Met to deliver the changes our communities are desperate to see"

London Councils Leaders' Committee met yesterday (Tuesday 8 December). Items on Leaders' agenda included: an update from London Councils' pandemic steering committee; local government finance; ThriveLDN; Proposed revenue budget, borough subscriptions and charges; and budget proposals for the London Councils grants scheme.

You can read the Leaders' Committee agenda here.

London Councils Transport and Environment Committee will meet tomorrow (Thursday 10 December). Chief Operating Officer for the London Ambulance Service, Khadir Mee, will be attending to talk about borough engagement. Other items on the agenda include: Flooding Partnerships; Climate Change; the London e-scooter trial and dockless parking byelaw.

You can read the TEC agenda here.