THE Government stands accused of being “perverse” in this week’s Local Government Chronicle (Aug 16) which is, it turns out, a polite and more interesting way of saying stupid.

According to housing officers, the Communities and Local Government department is exhibiting a kind of backwards common sense in using the number of “homeless” households in temporary accommodation to decide which council deserves the biggest share of funds from the Regional Housing Pot.

“The proposal to rely on a snapshot of use of temporary accommodation ... could provide a perverse incentive ... undermining the focus on prevention,” says Mike McMahon, the head of housing at Luton Borough Council.

Councils that have reduced the number of people housed in temporary accommodation are also perplexed.

“In greater Norwich, we have done a lot of work to reduce the use of temporary accommodation,” says Jamie Ratcliffe, a strategic housing officer at Norwich City Council. “Having put in that work, we could be penalised for having done so.”

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