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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated to local election pilots in (a) 2026 and (b) 2027.

The maximum available budget for the 2026 pilots is approximately £5.84m, the majority of which was allocated to one-off software development for real-time digital registers, which were needed to enable the pilots. We anticipate this development work supporting any future piloting schemes and potential roll-out.

The pilots represent one step in a longer-term strategy to future-proof our democracy. The insights gained will inform future phases of reform. Decisions on funding for any future pilots in 2027 will be made in due course.