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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the cancellation of some local election on (a) communities and (b) local authorities.

In reaching his decisions on 2026 elections, as set out to the House on 22 January 2026, the Secretary of State adopted a locally led approach and carefully considered all the representations made. He heard from councils across the country about the capacity challenges they face as they seek to deliver local government reorganisation and how postponement would release essential capacity.

Postponement will enable those councils to focus work on reorganisation, and setting up new councils ready to deliver public services from day one.

Where councils have asked for their elections to go ahead, those elections are going ahead. The vast majority of local elections will go ahead across England in May.