Local authorities are no longer required to publish members' home addresses

We have been informed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) that, from 29 June 2026, local authorities must no longer publish the home addresses of elected or co-opted members in their public registers of interests.

This change is intended to help make public office safer and encourage more people to stand for election. Until now, under Section 32 (sensitive interests) of the Localism Act 2011, a member's home address could only be withheld if the authority believed its publication could expose them to violence or intimidation.

The new Section 32A of the Localism Act 2011, inserted by Section 65 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, changes this position. A member's home address must not be included in the authority's public register of interests unless the member specifically requests that it is published.

This requirement also applies to parish and town councils that publish registers of interests on their own websites under Section 29 (7) of the Localism Act 2011.

To maintain transparency, public registers will continue to show that a member has a relevant interest, but the address itself will be withheld. Full address details will still be declared to the monitoring officer, remain available internally to the authority and continue to support the management of potential conflicts of interest.

Councillors and mayors can also continue to apply to their monitoring officer to have other interests, including a second address, treated as sensitive interests if publishing those details could lead to violence or intimidation for them or their family.

We will continue to keep the sector informed of any further guidance and support in implementing these changes to protect elected members while maintaining transparency.