Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to require parish councils to submit annual governance reports to their principal authorities.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 require parish councils and other smaller authorities to produce an Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR). Parish councils are accountable to their local electorate rather than their principal authority. The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 require councils to make their unaudited AGAR available for public inspection. Councils are also required to publish their AGAR (including the external auditor's report and certificate) online and/or on noticeboards by the end of September following the end of the financial year to which the statement relates.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether forthcoming legislative proposals on the use of non-disclosure agreements would apply retrospectively.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Victims are always able to report crimes to the police under the common law, even if their Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) suggests otherwise and irrespective of when the NDA was entered into. However, since 1 October 2025, section 17 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 allows individuals who are victims of crime, or reasonably believe they are, to share information with specified parties for certain purposes related to the criminal conduct, even if their NDA appears to preclude them from doing so. Additionally, clause 24 of the Employment Rights Bill will void any provision in an agreement between a worker and their employer to the extent that it seeks to prevent a worker from speaking out about relevant harassment and discrimination, unless conditions for an “excepted agreement” to be set in regulations are met. This measure is not yet in force and is subject to the Bill gaining Royal Assent.
Neither of these initiatives would apply retrospectively. They would not apply to NDAs entered into before the date on which the relevant legislation comes into force. This is in line with the rule of law principle that policy changes generally apply prospectively, to provide certainty for individuals and businesses about the rules governing their conduct.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
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 has made a recent assessment of the potential implications for its policies of the Committee on Standards in Public Life's report entitled Local Government Ethical Standards, published on 30 January 2019; and whether he plans to implement the recommendations on sanctions in that report.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In December 2024 the government launched a consultation seeking views on wide ranging reforms to the local government standards regime in England. 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.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
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 bring forward proposals for the suspension of councillors for up to six months in cases of proven (a) bullying, (b) harassment and (c) serious misconduct.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In December 2024 the government launched a consultation seeking views on wide ranging reforms to the local government standards regime in England. 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.