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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of arrangements for standards enforcement in local government.

The Government is actively considering options to strengthen the standards regime for local government and provide councils with more effective means to address serious misconduct by elected members. We want to give local leaders the tools they need to establish and maintain a strong ethical culture within their authority, and give the people they serve the confidence that local democracy works for them.

Our intention is to engage with local authorities, sector representative bodies, and other key stakeholders in due course to ensure a wide range of views are heard.