Local government standards in England

This briefing paper provides information about how councillor standards and conduct operate in England, and proposals for change to the existing system that were issued by the government in late 2024.

Section 1 of the briefing provides a history of councillor standards regimes in England up to 2011, including details of the legal framework in operation between 2001 and 2011, managed by the Standards Board for England.

Section 2 sets out the regime in existence in early 2025, introduced by the Localism Act 2011. In this system, local authorities are solely responsible for monitoring the conduct of their councillors. The Standards Board for England was abolished, and powers to suspend councillors who breached standards of conduct were repealed.

Section 3 sets out the proposals made in the consultation document Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England, published by the Labour government in December 2024, and some reactions to them.

Section 4 provides brief details of the legal regime for monitoring councillor standards and conduct that exists in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Local government standards are a devolved matter. Each of the devolved parts of the UK has a single local government standards regime managed by an organisation at the devolved level.