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 letter to council leaders whose elections he is seeking to postpone published on 22 January 2026, what assessment he has made of the administrative impact on councils of running town and parish elections while district or county-level authority elections are postponed.

Where a decision has been made to postpone local elections in an area, parish and town council elections will still be proceeding as planned, given they are outside of local government reorganisation.

Councils will deliver the elections they are required to and the costs of town and parish council elections can be passed on to those town and parish councils.