A leading councillor has called for more government support to help households facing poverty following last week’s Autumn Statement.

In the fiscal statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that local housing allowance would be unfrozen – allowing the rate of financial help for private renters to increase.

He said: “Because rent can constitute more than half the living costs of private renters on the lowest incomes, I have listened closely to many colleagues as well as the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Resolution Foundation, Citizens Advice UK and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation who said unfreezing the Local Housing Allowance was an ‘urgent priority’.”

The move was welcomed by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead’s housing lead Catherine del Campo, but she still urged the government to commit to more support for poorer households.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The unfreezing of local housing allowance is a welcome step, but we call on the government to do more to help the poorest households.

“As a new administration, we are working hard to increase the number of homes for social rent, but councils up and down the country are struggling with rising adult social care demand and few are in a position to make any kind of meaningful investment in new homes.

“We also need the government to provide better support for refugees leaving hotels as this places a disproportionate pressure on Boroughs like ours that have one or more hotels housing asylum seekers.”

The sentiment was echoed by the Local Government Association, whose chair councillor Shaun Davies also supported the unfreezing of housing allowance while voicing demands for additional support.

He said: “National economic growth can ultimately only be achieved if every local economy is firing on all cylinders.

“Only with the right powers and adequate long-term funding which allows councils to plan properly, can we play a lead role in unlocking the labour market, building new affordable homes, creating jobs, plugging skills gaps and delivering on other key government priorities.”