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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to take steps to avoid postponement of scheduled local elections during future reorganisation processes.

The Government’s starting point is for all elections to go ahead unless there is strong justification.

The Government will work with areas to hold elections for new unitary councils as soon as possible, as is the usual arrangement in the process of local government reorganisation.

Legislation to implement proposals for unitary councils replaces any planned elections with elections for the new councils. This avoid the cost and disruption of elections to short-term posts in councils which will shortly be abolished.