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, whether the Statutory Instrument to delay local elections will include in the Explanatory Note the reason why those councils have been selected for postponement.

The Secretary of State’s decisions were explained in his Statements to the House on 22 January and the letter he sent to council leaders, which was also copied to the Honourable Member, and is publicly available.

The Department will now prepare the necessary Order, which will be laid in both Houses when Parliamentary time allows. The Explanatory Memorandum accompanying the statutory instrument is required to set out the policy context including what is being done by the instrument and why.

It is not within the Secretary of State’s gift to change the process for Parliamentary scrutiny of a statutory instrument as this is prescribed in primary legislation, in this case by section 105(5) of the Local Government Act 2000.