North Yorkshire councillors’ home addresses to be secret

Under new laws set to come into force later this month, North Yorkshire Council will remove councillors’ usual residential addresses from its website by default.

The changes follow the recent passing of new laws, which scrap the decades-old requirement for politicians to publish where they live.

The move comes amid mounting national concerns over councillor safety.

Previously, members had to apply on a case-by-case basis to have their addresses redacted as a “sensitive interest” if they feared intimidation.

In North Yorkshire alone, 19 councillors have already withheld their home addresses under these safety rules.

Now, the authority’s standards and governance committee is set to meet on June 19 to rubber-stamp changes to its code of conduct to reflect the law.

Under the new rules, a councillor’s address will only be made public if they explicitly request it.

Without that permission, the online register will simply state that the information is “withheld from publication”.

However, politicians must still register their addresses confidentially with the council’s monitoring officer to maintain transparency.

Barry Khan, the council’s monitoring officer, said in a report prepared ahead of the meeting: “The legal change aims to improve councillor safety, reduce risks of harassment, modernise transparency rules and ensure that personal data is handled proportionately.”

Parish and town councils in North Yorkshire are also being encouraged to review their codes of conduct regarding addresses.

Officials say the change represents a modern, proportionate approach to personal data that prioritises the safety of elected officials without compromising local democracy.