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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to improve standards in local politics.

We published the government’s response to the Strengthening the Standards and Conduct Framework for Local Authorities in England consultation on 11 November. The response, informed by the consultation and wider sector engagement, sets out our ambition to introduce a clearer and consistently applied conduct system that will help local elected members to hold themselves and their colleagues to account in meeting the high standards and conduct their roles demand and the public have a right to expect.

We intend to legislate on local government standards reforms when parliamentary time allows.