Councillors' Addresses To Be Kept Secret By Default Over Safety Fears
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The home addresses of local councillors will soon be kept secret from the public under new government legislation, amid rising concern over threats to elected representatives.
The change, tabled by the government in amendments to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, will mean councillors’ addresses are no longer included by default on local authority registers.
It comes as fears have grown in recent years over abuse and intimidation faced by politicians at all levels of government.
One in four councillors from across England and Wales who responded to a survey last year by the Local Government Association (LGA) said they had experienced threats of violence or death against themselves or someone close to them.
The same research showed 72 per cent of councillors had experienced abuse or intimidation in the previous 12 months as a result of their role.
The move to make councillors’ addresses private has been welcomed by the Jo Cox Foundation, which has long campaigned for the change.
A spokeswoman for the charity said the government should now ensure that the forthcoming Elections Bill contains similar measures to prevent the automatic publication of candidates’ home addresses.
“Risking your own safety should not be a cost that anyone faces for participating in public life,” she told The House Magazine.
“Measures like this help ensure that councillors and their families can feel safe in light of this culture of abuse.”
According to the LGA’s survey data, rates of abuse were reported at higher levels among councillors who are women (78 per cent), LGBT+ (85 per cent), or disabled (86 per cent).
Local authority leaders have similarly welcomed the move to prevent the public from accessing councillors’ addresses. Conservative councillor Matt Boughton, chair of the LGA’s safer and stronger communities committee, said the change “represents an important recognition of the challenges that impact councillors every day”.
The bill will reach the Lords Committee Stage on 20 January.
In November, the government separately announced plans to empower local authorities to suspend mayors and councillors for up to six months for serious misconduct.
Communities Secretary Steve Reed, a former councillor himself, said “when a small minority behave badly, it’s a disservice to hard-working councillors and to taxpayers”. He is committed, he added, to “rooting out those who bring the system into disrepute”.
