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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department issues to local authorities on whether councillors should declare ownership of property which is (a) rented out to their local authority at a commercial rate and (b) used by their local authority at a commercial rate via a third party.

Local authority members must register and disclose pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests with their authority.

This includes contracts where a member is providing a service to their local authority, as well as any land interests they may have in the local authority area.

The government guidance ‘Openness and transparency on personal interests: guidance for councillors’ provides practical information to councillors about how to be open and transparent about their personal interests.