The National Audit Office (NAO) has launched an inquiry into homelessness as the issue piles pressure on squeezed council budgets.

Auditors, who are due to report in the summer, are expected to consider whether the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities understands the full extent of the homelessness problem, is ‘delivering appropriate system leadership' on the issue and is ‘supporting local authorities to deliver their statutory duties efficiently and effectively'.