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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with local government representatives on altering section 7 (2) and (3) of the Local Government Act 1972 relating to elections in metropolitan districts.

Whilst we have had no such discussions about these provisions in the Local Government Act 1972, which provide for metropolitan district councils to elect a third of the council in each of 3 years out of 4, my officials have had discussions or consultations with the councils of Birmingham and Rotherham about changing the pattern of their elections to the whole of the council being elected every four years.

I have laid the necessary statutory orders to move Birmingham to whole council elections from May 2018 and I intend shortly to lay the order to move Rotherham to whole council elections from May 2016.