Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether candidates standing for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections will be provided with a freepost to electors.
Answered by Chloe Smith
As for previous Police and Crime Commissioner elections, all candidates standing at the May 2020 Police and Crime Commissioner elections are entitled to have a candidate address published on the choosemypcc.org.uk website. The Government will meet the cost of providing, on request, to eligible electors a printed booklet of all the candidate addresses for their police area.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to publicise the Police and Crime Commissioner elections on 7 May 2020.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The statutory responsibility to raise awareness of the Police and Crime Commissioner elections rests with the Electoral Commission and the Returning Officers running the polls, although political parties and candidates also have a major - but non-statutory - role. It is expected that candidates seeking votes will undertake activity to set out their policies and encourage participation.
In parallel to this, poll cards provide electors with details of the Government run freephone telephone number and website to obtain information about candidates, which can be downloaded from the website. A paper booklet can also be requested and sent for free to an elector’s home address. Booklets can be ordered in large print, braille and audio versions.
The Government supports these statutory activities by providing funding to Police Area Returning Officers (PAROs) to raise awareness. The Government also undertakes a range of promotional activities, including via social media and the provision of advertising material to PAROs.