This response is submitted by the Local Government Association (LGA) on behalf of local authorities.
This response is submitted by the Local Government Association (LGA) on behalf of local authorities. The LGA is a cross-party organisation that is the national voice of local government. We work with councils and central government to support, promote and improve local government. The LGA covers every part of England and Wales (through the WLGA) and includes county and district councils, London boroughs, metropolitan and unitary councils.
The Workforce Team of the LGA offers advice on employment issues and represents local government employer interests to central government, government agencies, trades unions and other interested parties. The LGA’s Local Government Resources Committee, whose remit includes workforce issues, comprises elected members from the LGA’s political groups providing cross party leadership to the LGA’s policy input. This submission has the support of all the political groups at the LGA.
The LGA manages sectoral collective bargaining in local government and national collective bargaining arrangements for fire, education and related sectors, covering, in total, over two million employees. Elected councillors (and other employer organisations where appropriate) and nationally recognised trade unions work together in a positive way to reach collective agreements on key employment issues such as pay and other terms and conditions. This helps to ensure that councils, and other employers, have pay, terms and conditions that are compliant with legislation and, where possible, model best practice.
The LGA works closely with member organisations and provides advice and support on employment matters, including relations with trade unions. Given the context outlined above, it is important that the views of councils are given full and careful consideration in the consultation.
This submission is based on our knowledge of the issues as they impact on local government. We have not answered the individual questions in the consultation but instead make the following points.
Local authorities seek to have constructive relations with the trade unions representing their employees, and as part of this many already routinely provide accommodation and facilities for trade union representatives and work with them on equalities issues. Therefore, in our view, the draft Code should not present any material issues for them, and it will assist local authorities in ensuring they comply with their duties in an effective and constructive manner.
However, there is one technical point at paragraph 23 of the Code which should be addressed. That paragraph says one of the functions for which the employer must allow equality representatives time off is for “providing information, advice or support relating to equality at work”. The Employment Rights Act 2025 provision on this states that function is for “providing information, advice or support to qualifying members of the trade union in relation to matters relating to equality in the workplace”. Therefore, our view is that paragraph 23 should be amended to include that reference to ‘qualifying members’.
We hope this response assists and if you would like to discuss it further, please contact [email protected].
Local Government Association
13 March 2026