Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the postponement of local government elections during the covid-19 outbreak, whether his Department plans to enable parish councils to co-opt new councillors in the event that there have been no requests for an election.
The Local Government and Police and Crime Commissioner (Coronavirus) (Postponement of Elections and Referendums) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/395) postpone parish council by-elections that would otherwise be required to be held by 5 May 2021 until 6 May 2021.
These Regulations came in to force on 7 April and are designed to allow that co-opting can be used to fill vacancies in the usual way.