Written question asked by James Cleverly (Conservative) on Friday, 28 August 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 September 2026. It was answered by Jim McMahon (Labour) on Wednesday, 16 September 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Local Government: Disclosure of Information

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to The Seventh National Action Plan for Open Government (NAP7): Analysis of initial evidence gathering, published on 4 August 2026, for what reason the proposals on strengthening the Local Government Transparency Code were not adopted as government policy.

Answer: The call for evidence for the Seventh National Action Plan for Open Government (NAP7) was undertaken by Cabinet Office to assess the potential for the co-creation of open government commitments, but did not adopt any specific policy proposals, and the development of commitments is currently ongoing. MHCLG is keeping the Local Transparency Code under review in the context of wider policy relating to local government accountability including reforms to the local audit system and simplifying local authority accounting.

Secondary information