The Government should establish a permanent central unit to deal with abuse and threats against councillors and make them safer when performing their elected roles, the LGA has said.
Priorities for the unit would include bringing forward legislation allowing councillors to withhold their home addresses from the public register of interests, and reviewing the preparedness of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to respond to online abuse of councillors.
The LGA also wants the Government to improve public understanding of the decision-making role of councils and councillors, help reset the tone of public discourse, and reinforce expectations of respectful debate.
The proposals are outlined in a ‘Civility in public life’ motion from the Association of North East Councils, proposed by North Tyneside Mayor Dame Norma Redfearn DBE and Cllr Amanda Hopgood, Leader of Durham County Council, which was adopted as LGA policy over the summer.
Cllr Marianne Overton, Chair of the LGA’s Civility in Public Life programme, said: “Amid continuing concerns for the safety and wellbeing of councillors, this new motion commits the LGA to pursue significant action from the Government to tackle the rising challenge of abuse and intimidation. It builds on the work of the Civility in Public Life programme and our Debate Not Hate campaign, which have yielded tangible results.
“Through them, we successfully lobbied for the inclusion of councillors in the Home Office’s Defending Democracy Policing Protocol, which extended police support for councillors, and secured £31 million in additional funding for local police forces.”
- See the LGA’s Debate Not Hate website for information, resources, toolkits and training.