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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2025 to Question 29001 on Local Government: Elections, whether the unitary local government elections will take place on the same day as the May 2026 combined authority mayors.

There are no plans to cancel district council elections in 2026. The government’s starting point is for all elections to go ahead unless there is strong justification.

The date of any unitary council elections will depend on the nature of proposals for local government reorganisation and progress on development of those proposals.

Members could review the numerous examples of reorganisations which took place under the previous government to better understand the practical steps taken as the programme progresses.