Briefings and responses

It is vital that local government reflect the communities it serves. Women make up 76 per cent of employees in the local government workforce. Still only 33 per cent of councillors in England are women.

It is vital that local government reflects the communities it represents. Positively, women make up 76 per cent of employees in the local government workforce

It is vital that local government reflects the communities it represents. However, despite women winning the right to stand in elections over 100 years ago, only 35 per cent of councillors are women.

This briefing details the new Bills of relevance to local government in the Queen's Speech and outlines our local government priorities.

2.1 The Local Government Association welcomes the opportunity to provide a response to the Government’s consultation on the Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy 2021 to 2024. The following submission outlines our key points on behalf of our membership, although local authorities will also look to respond directly to this consultation.

The equal participation of women and men in local politics, as our elected councillors and as our leaders, is an important condition for effective democracy and good governance.

The 2020 Spending Review outlines the Government’s spending plans for 2021/22 by setting budgets for each central government department.

We are committed to helping members improve their diversity and inclusion across all areas and we are working with central government to encourage more women to enter politics.

Councils across the country are doing all they can to safeguard and protect women and girls from all forms of harm. We support a public health approach to tackling serious violent crime against women and girls, which is a key contributor to poor mental health.