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 her Department's document entitled Remote attendance and proxy voting in local authorities: consultation results and government response, published on 5 June 2025, whether she has considered the potential merits of proxy voting of quasi-judicial committees (a) and its compatibility with the principles of non-determination on those committees and (b) in general.

We stated in gov.uk here that we plan to require all principal councils in England to introduce proxy voting schemes for full council meetings. We also stated that for all other meetings, proxy voting may be used but will not be required, and that substitute or pairing schemes may be more appropriate. We trust councils to develop clear and sensible policies that will work for their local areas.