But if councils themselves step forward, that alibi is gone.
There's a complete lack of joined up thinking within the councils themselves, let alone between neighbouring borough.
There has been a 60% increase in child protection workloads over the past eight years, while the councils themselves are confronted by 40% government reductions in their funding.
Hughes was last night emphasising that it will be for councils themselves to decide whether to take up these changes, but he is also stressing that this is a consultation.
Over the past year, central London councils, themselves struggling to find affordable places to house their tenants, have been moving them to cheaper areas such as Newham, reducing the available affordable stock in that borough, so that Newham has had to start moving people farther out.
Councils themselves acknowledge they are struggling to meet demand.
"The blame for lack of adoption lies primarily with the councils themselves," he says.
The employers' body, the Local Government Association, is also consulting with councils themselves on the changes.
It is for the councils themselves to take decisions about "sustainability and viability over time", the spokesperson added.
