Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the Government's policy is on the recommendation of the Fawcett Society in its report Does local government work for women, published in July 2017, that data on the make-up of local council candidates and councillors must be collected in a uniform format and must include protected characteristics like age, ethnicity, and disability.

My Department welcomes the work of the Fawcett Society in shining a light on the barriers facing women in local government leadership roles. I am keen to explore the issues raised by the report in more detail so I will be holding a round table discussion with the Fawcett Society and with key stakeholders in local government.