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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department’s consultation on Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England, published in December 2024, whether political parties will receive representation on the national body to consider appeals on standards matters.

The consultation to which the Honourable Member refers sought views from across the local government sector on the appropriateness of creating a national body to consider appeals, alongside a range of other proposed measures to strengthen the local government standards framework. The Government Response will be issued in due course. After its release, we will continue to work actively with local government on developing the detailed policies for implementation.