§ Mr. FlanneryTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his estimates of the numbers of individuals disqualified from political activities as a result of the Local Government and Housing Act.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryOn the basis of the lists received from 428 out of the 491 authorities concerned, I understand that some 32,000 holders of local authority posts in England have been included in lists under section 2 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 as subject to political restrictions. This figure does not include all posts of chief executive, monitoring officer, chief officer and deputy chief officer, whose posts are subject to the political restrictions but are not necessarily included in the lists under the 1989 Act.
Local government officers whose posts are in these lists, other than the holders of the specific posts I have mentioned, have the right to exemption if the independent adjudicator considers that their posts do not meet the statutory criteria.