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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Department's press release entitled Councils granted flexibility to finish reorganisation published on 22 January 2026, what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) Basildon Council and (b) Essex County Council on local elections.

As per the Secretary of State’s statement on 22 January, the necessary legislation will be laid shortly to postpone a minority of local elections in 2026, including Thurrock Council.

The Department has had a range of discussions with councils across the country in recent weeks about local government reorganisation and elections, including with Basildon Council and Essex County Council.

In relation to local elections in 2027, we anticipate that in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock these will be for any new unitary authorities that are announced following the recent statutory consultation. Once a decision is taken on which final proposal for unitary local government, if any, is to be implemented, we will bring forward a Structural Changes Order as soon as possible to give councils certainty. Officials in my Department, alongside the Electoral Commission and other sector bodies, support Returning Officers with some aspects of election preparation to ensure they are progressing effectively.