Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2025 to Question 30628, on Local Government: Codes of Practice, and further to the consultation response entitled Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England – consultation results and government response, published on 11 November 2025, if he will make it his policy to ensure that the new mandatory code of conduct has a free speech clause modelled on the Bromley code of conduct.

The government response to the local government standards framework consultation published on 11 November 2025 confirmed our intention to legislate to prescribe a mandatory code of conduct. We are continuing to engage with the sector as we develop final detailed policies for implementation.