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 letter from the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness to council leaders on the local government publicity code, dated 19 November 2025, whether local authorities may fund public affairs consultants and public relations firms for statutory consultations on unitary local government restructuring.

The Publicity Code provision at paragraph 26 under the heading of the “appropriate use of publicity” principle states local authorities should not incur any expenditure in retaining the services of lobbyists for the purpose of the publication of any material designed to influence public officials, Members of Parliament, political parties or the government to take a particular view on any issue.