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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Flexible Voting Pilot 2027: prospectus, published on 24 August 2026, what is the budget for the 2027 programme of pilots and what was the total outturn cost for the 2026 pilots.

The Department is currently considering applications for the 2027 Flexible Voting Pilot programme. The final scope of the programme, including participating local authorities, remains subject to Ministerial agreement. Funding requirements will therefore be finalised once the programme has been agreed.

For the 2026 Flexible Voting Pilots, the Department is completing the final financial reconciliation with participating local authorities. As this process includes the settlement of remaining payments, a final figure is not yet available.