Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Government response to the Committee for Public Life report on Local Government Ethical Standards, published on 18 March 2022, what plans he has to ensure that councillors are not required to publicly disclose their home addresses.

The sensitive interest provisions at Section 32 of the Localism Act 2011 currently allows councillors to request that their home addresses are not published if disclosure could lead to them, or a person connected to them, being subject to violence or intimidation. The Government encourages monitoring officers to look sympathetically at requests for withholding home addresses where there are legitimate concerns.

Intimidation is unacceptable and it is vital that councillors feel able to raise concerns about intimidation, and that those in leadership positions in councils take concerns seriously and deal with them appropriately.