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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of extending the terms of office of councillors following the cancellation of local elections on democratic accountability.

Where local elections are scheduled to be postponed to release essential capacity for delivering local government reorganisation, democratic accountability remains with the elected member whose term will be extended for an additional year. These councillors were elected to their seats and continue to hold a democratic mandate.