Sentencing Bill 2025: Impact of the Bill on member disqualification and other legislative interactions

Councillor disqualification law is governed by the Local Government Act 1972 as amended by the Local Government (Disqualification) Act 2022. Grounds include a custodial sentence of three months or more, including a suspended sentence, without the option of a fine within the last five years, bankruptcy restrictions, corrupt/illegal electoral practices, and being subject to sexual offence notification requirements or orders. The same disqualification criteria apply to parish councillors, directly elected local authority mayors, combined authority mayors without policing responsibility and members of the Greater London Authority and its mayor. Other disqualification criteria apply to combined authority mayors with policing responsibility, police and crime commissioners and members of parliament. A full summary of disqualification criteria by elected role is provided in Appendix A.

The Sentencing Bill does not amend any of these laws, and we believe that most of the proposals in the Bill will have no impact on disqualification criteria for councillors, see below:

• Whole Life Orders related to murder convictions – these offences would likely already result in a disqualification for five years; therefore, these measures are unlikely to have an impact on disqualification criteria.
• Serious Sexual Offences Sentencing and release arrangements – these offences would likely already result in a disqualification for five years from conviction and in perpetuity if the individual is placed on the sex offenders register; therefore, these measures are unlikely to have an impact on disqualification criteria.
• Extended Home Detention Curfew eligibility – the application of Home Detention does not amend the sentence given and therefore is not expected to impact on the disqualification of councillors where the sentence given, not time served, is the disqualifying factor.

However, the Bill also intends to bring in a presumption to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less, rather than serving a short-term imprisonment. Legally, this change does not impact the councillor disqualification criteria, as disqualification applies whether a custodial sentence is served or suspended. However, if suspended sentences are used more regularly, there is a risk of confusion by candidates, councils and the public.

Candidates at elections must confirm that they are not disqualified for any reason, but the use of suspended sentences could create confusion amongst candidates, agents, councillors, officers from whom they may seek advice as to whether they are or are not disqualified, and the public, as disqualification criteria is already complex. This may be exacerbated by the proposal to use additional community sentences alongside suspended sentences, as community sentences are not referred to in the disqualification legislation.

Although we believe that the disqualification criteria will not be impacted by the Sentencing Bill, the LGA believes that the Government should consider issuing guidance on disqualification for candidates, agents and officers to provide absolute clarity on when an individual is or is not disqualified from public office.

The LGA has recently called for disqualification criteria to be reviewed through the response to the strengthening councillor standards consultation. The existing criteria were established in 1972 and have only been updated in relation to sexual offences through the Local Government (Disqualification) Act 2022 and intimidatory criminal behaviour motivated by hostility towards a political person through the Elections Act 2022.

Existing issues with the current disqualification criteria:

• No review of disqualification criteria has been performed to consider changes to sentencing policy or the introduction of new offences that might be relevant to standards for elected officials. This has led to exclusions, including misconduct in public office and fraud against the authority on which a councillor sits, where these offences do not result in disqualification from public office. The LGA called specifically for a review of disqualification criteria to produce a proportionate and consistent standard across all elected members that is well understood by members, officers and the public. Deviations for very specific roles or circumstances may be considered, but this should be the exception, not the rule (strengthening councillor standards consultation).
• Adaptation of disqualification criteria to strengthen the regime in local government has not been replicated for parliamentary members, and this has increased pre-existing disparity of accepted criminal behaviour between different elected roles, for example, why being on the sex offenders register does not result in an MP being disqualified when it does for all other elected members. We have previously called for a consistent application of disqualification criteria across elected members (LGA submission to the consultation on disqualification criteria for councillors and mayors).

Disqualification criteria differ for combined authorities as set out above. Generally, combined authority mayors without police and crime commissioner responsibility are subject to the same disqualification criteria around criminal convictions as local authority councillors; combined authority mayors with police and crime commissioner responsibilities are subject to the same stricter disqualification criteria as police and crime commissioners. There is one exception: the London Mayor has police and crime commissioner responsibility but has the same disqualification criteria around criminal convictions as local authority councillors.

If the current Government aims to transfer PCC responsibility to combined authority mayors nationwide, presumably the stricter disqualification criteria will apply to these combined authorities and their mayors.

Principal and parish councillors

According to the Local Government Act 1972, anyone sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three months or more (including suspended sentences), without the option of a fine, is disqualified from standing for election as a councillor. Disqualification lasts for five years and applies from the date of conviction. The date of conviction is the point at which the ordinary period allowed for making an appeal has ended without an appeal being made or an appeal or application related to the conviction has been disposed of or abandoned. In effect, a disqualification cannot apply until all opportunities for appeal have been dealt with.

Other disqualifications exist related to electoral offences under the Representation of the People Act 1983 and the Elections Act 2022. Additionally, under the Local Government (Disqualification) Act 2022, individuals are disqualified from being elected to or holding certain positions in local government in England if they are subject to relevant notification requirements or orders due to sexual offences. The Act is not retrospective. 

Combined authority mayors without PCC responsibility

Schedule 2 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 and Schedule 5B of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 set out disqualification criteria for combined authority mayors without PCC responsibility. Individuals are disqualified from being elected if they have been convicted of an offence and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three months or more, without the option of a fine, within the last five years. This disqualification applies regardless of whether the sentence was suspended or not. These members are also disqualified from office in the case of illegal/corrupt electoral offences and sexual offences, including being placed on the sex offenders register. These criteria are the same as for councillors.

Police and Crime Commissioners and Combined authority mayors with PCC responsibility

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 sets out eligibility criteria for PCCs are disqualified from being elected as a PCC if they have ever been convicted of an imprisonable offence, even if they were not actually imprisoned (suspended sentence) or if the conviction is "spent".  PCCs are also disqualified for corrupt/illegal electoral practices. These criteria also apply to combined authority mayors with PCC responsibility. These are stricter disqualification criteria than for councillors.

Members of the GLA and the London Mayor

The Greater London Authority Act 1999 states that anyone sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three months or more (including suspended sentences), without the option of a fine, is disqualified from standing for election to the London Assembly or as Mayor of London for five years from the conviction date. The date of conviction is the point at which the ordinary period allowed for making an appeal has ended without an appeal being made or an appeal or application related to the conviction has been disposed of or abandoned. This mirrors the rules for local councillors under the Local Government Act 1972 and is notably different from other combined authority mayors with PCC responsibility, where candidates or office holders are disqualified if they have ever been convicted of an imprisonable offence.

Members of Parliament

The relevant law is mainly the Representation of the People Act 1981 and the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975. Any MP sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year or more is automatically disqualified from being an MP. This applies regardless of whether the sentence is suspended. The disqualification takes effect immediately upon conviction. MPs sentenced to less than one year remain eligible to serve and stand for re-election, even if imprisoned for that period.

Arian Nemati, Public Affairs and Campaigns Adviser
Email: [email protected]

Sentencing Bill, Second Reading, House of Commons, 16 September 2025