NALC disappointed by omission of remote meetings and standards reform from King's Speech

We are bitterly disappointed that the government's legislative programme in today's King's Speech failed to include measures to permanently enable remote and hybrid council meetings for parish and town councils and local authorities. The ability to meet remotely proved highly effective during the COVID-19 pandemic, improving accessibility, increasing participation, and supporting councillors with caring responsibilities, disabilities, or work commitments. Its omission represents a missed opportunity to modernise local democracy and remove unnecessary barriers to public service.

We are deeply concerned by the absence of legislation to strengthen the standards regime in local government. Parish and town councils continue to operate within a framework that lacks sufficient powers to deal effectively with councillor misconduct and uphold public confidence. We are one of the loudest voices pressing for a stronger and more consistent standards system, including the ability to apply tougher sanctions where appropriate, which is essential to maintaining trust and accountability in local democracy.

During the passage of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act, ministers continually committed to bringing forward legislation on remote meetings and standards when parliamentary time allowed. The King's Speech was the perfect opportunity for the government to deliver on this commitment.

We also note the introduction of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, commonly known as the Hillsborough Law, and its proposed statutory duty of candour for public officials. We are keen to engage with the government on the details of these proposals and, in particular, to understand any implications for parish and town council councillors and staff. Therefore, we will be pushing for the bill to deliver reform of the local government standards regime, alongside its wider focus on accountability.

While we were pleased to see the Representation of the People Bill included, the bill must go further to modernise and strengthen democratic participation. The bill will only succeed if it strengthens participation through parish and town councils, encouraging more people to vote, enabling more people to stand, and better supporting those who serve, thereby rebuilding trust in democracy from the ground up. It should include measures to undertake digital voting pilots, reform to councillor allowances, piloting online voting, introducing digital nominations, reforming election fee structures and a campaign to promote local democracy. Given the absence of specific legislation, we will be pressing for the bill to allow parish and town councils to hold remote and hybrid meetings and to reform the standards regime.

We look forward to further details on the design and implementation of an overnight visitor levy in the legislative programme. We consider that a proportion of any revenue generated should be directed to parish and town councils in areas where they exist, so that communities hosting visitors can directly benefit through investment in local infrastructure and services where appropriate.

We will continue to work with government, parliamentarians, and sector partners to press for these reforms to be brought forward as soon as possible.

Parish and town councils remain committed to serving their communities effectively. But, they need a modern legislative framework that reflects the realities of contemporary public service and supports strong, transparent, and inclusive local governance.