Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reason he rejected the Electoral Commission of Northern Ireland's request to separate the next scheduled local government and Assembly elections.

The date for local government elections is set in statute as the first Thursday in May every 4 years, and for the Assembly elections as the first Thursday in May every 5 years. The people of Northern Ireland expect to go to the polls on 6 May 2027 and the Government has no intention of changing that.