Research and analysis

Costs of the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections

Published 17 June 2026

Applies to England and Wales

Foreword

This report continues the previous UK government’s commitment to publishing the costs incurred in the delivery of Police and Crime Commissioner elections. 

Transparency and accountability are vital to ensuring a healthy democracy. The purpose of this report is to provide taxpayers with a detailed breakdown of how their money was spent in the delivery of the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections. We are also publishing an accompanying dataset and dashboard to facilitate a greater understanding of the underlying detail. 

In publishing this data, we hope to facilitate greater sharing of good practice between Returning Officers and the public to encourage the efficient and effective delivery of elections. It is crucial that our elections are funded properly so that they can be run fairly and securely to deliver accurate and trusted results. We must also seek to ensure that public money is spent in the most cost-effective manner possible. 

These elections were run on the maximum recoverable amount (MRA) funding model which has resulted in a considerable improvement in the accuracy of our funding allocations since it was introduced in 2014.

We continue to develop the MRA funding model using feedback and examples received from Returning Officers and electoral administrators to further refine its operation. This will ensure that we continue to provide appropriate levels of funding whilst also driving better value for money.

We are extremely grateful for the hard work and expertise of Returning Officers, and their electoral services teams, across England and Wales. The information provided in this report puts into context the size of the challenge they face in delivering these polls; a challenge they continue to meet successfully. 

We hope that this report will be of use to all those who work on the administration of elections. We also hope that it will prove informative to the wider public, and to Parliament.

Executive summary

The total amount paid from the UK government’s Consolidated Fund for the costs of the 6 May 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections was £49,332,399.

This total includes the costs of all aspects of the conduct of the poll that were met from the Consolidated Fund, including the distribution of poll cards, operation of polling stations, provision of postal votes, the count, and the fees paid to Returning Officers for their services in delivering the elections. The funding for the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections was administered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (now Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).

This report does not cover costs not met by the Consolidated Fund i.e. other polls held on the same day or the costs of electoral registration (which is a local authority responsibility).

The government has previously published reports on the costs of European Parliamentary elections, UK Parliamentary general elections, and Police and Crime Commissioner elections – starting from 2014 onwards - including the full datasets on how the money was spent.

Key facts

The total cost of the conduct of the elections is broken down as follows:

Conduct Costs of the 2021 PCC Election

Category	Cost
Returning Officers’ services	£1.94 million
Returning Officers’ expenses	£47.04 million
Centrally incurred costs	£0.36 million
Total	£49.33 million*

*All figures above have been rounded to 2 decimal places; as a result, component values may not add precisely to the total figure provided.

In addition to the above, £105,000 was paid back into the Consolidated Fund in forfeited candidate deposits, resulting in the total net expenditure of £49,332,399.

Electorate at the 2021 Election

Category
Registered Electors	33,729,297
Registered Postal Voters	6,398,501
Electors who Cast a Vote	11,528,840
Average Cost per Elector	£1.45
Average Cost per Vote	£4.25

The electoral data used within this report is collated and published by the Electoral Commission.

This data includes the number of registered electors, postal voters, ballots cast, and the number of rejected ballots.

1. Introduction

About the elections

On 6 May 2021 elections were held in 301 voting areas across 39 police force areas in England and Wales (except for Greater London, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire where directly elected Mayors assume the functions of a Police and Crime Commissioner). Elections for Police and Crime Commissioners do not take place in Scotland and Northern Ireland as responsibility for policing has been devolved to the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections took place across the 283 local authorities that fall within the 39 police force areas. A Police and Crime Commissioner for a police force area is elected by combining the results of the polls from the local authorities within the police force area. The Police and Crime Commissioners in 2021 were elected using the supplementary vote system.

The PCC elections were managed by Police Area Returning Officers (PAROs) who worked through Local Returning Officers to deliver the polls in each relevant local authority in a Police Area. The Police Area Returning Officers were responsible for:  

• publishing the notice of the election
• managing the results collation process for the results of the local authorities within their
• police force area, leading to an overall result for the area
• ensuring that Local Returning Officers had the necessary plans and arrangements in place for the conduct of the elections in their respective local authority areas   
• the declaration of the results

At local authority level, the elections were managed by Local Returning Officers. The Local Returning Officers were responsible for:  

• the conduct of the poll in their area 
• the printing of ballot papers
• the issue and receipt of postal ballot papers
• the verification of the ballot paper accounts  
• the counting of the votes given in their area (some police areas organised a central count led by the Police Area Returning Officer)

In total, 11.5 million people cast a vote in the elections, out of 33.7 million on the electoral register; a turnout of 34.2%. 

About this report

The purpose of this report is to provide greater transparency to the public on the cost of running Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales. This includes making available the underlying dataset in an open and accessible manner.

The first section of the report sets out how elections are funded, including the legislative framework governing election funding and the administration of that funding.

The second section of the report sets out the cost of the elections according to the various types of expenditure. 

Further data, including a breakdown of costs by local authority and with comparisons to electorate and turnout, are appended to the report.

The report does not seek to review or make recommendations about how the elections were funded or administered, or the level of funding provided. The complete dataset underpinning this report has been published concurrently on GOV.UK.

Other information about the elections

In May 2021 the Electoral Commission published a report on the administration of the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections. The report is available on the Electoral Commission’s website: Report on the May 2021 elections in England

Candidate spending returns, which record expenditure by individual candidates, were available on request from the relevant Police Area Returning Officer for a period of 2 years after the election.  

2. How are elections funded?

Sources of funding

UK-wide elections

The costs of conducting UK-wide elections are paid for by the UK government from the Consolidated Fund. Management of this process was the responsibility of the Cabinet Office until 2021 and Northern Ireland Office (NIO manages the process for Northern Ireland in relation to UK parliamentary elections only). This responsibility moved from the Cabinet Office to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (now Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government), in December 2021 and is subject to approval by HM Treasury. 

This applies to the election of:

• Members of the UK Parliament
• Police and Crime Commissioners (England and Wales only)

The funding is accounted for by the relevant government departments. Each department produces and publishes an annual statement of accounts for the expenditure incurred within the given financial year.

UK-wide referendums

Referendums held across the UK on national issues are funded in broadly the same manner as UK-wide elections. As with elections, the delivery of the poll is funded from the Consolidated Fund and the amounts allocated to counting officers are determined by the UK government.

However, since the Referendum on the UK Parliamentary Voting System in 2011, the responsibility for administering and accounting for the funding has been undertaken by the Electoral Commission in line with the responsibility for running such polls.

In addition to resources provided from the Consolidated Fund, costs incurred by the Electoral Commission in conducting a referendum (including its own running costs and payments to the official campaigns) are funded through its annual estimate, which is approved by Parliament.

Further information on the cost of national referendums can be found on the Electoral Commission website. Find the most recent report, on the cost of the 2016 referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union.

Devolved elections and local polls

The costs of conducting elections to devolved legislatures and local government, and referendums on issues that are not UK-wide, are not funded  by the UK government. The responsibility for resourcing these polls sits with the relevant devolved administration or local authority.     

Electoral registration and absent voting

The costs of maintaining the electoral register, including the annual canvass, and the registration process for absent voting are legally distinct from the conduct of elections and are resourced by the relevant local authorities in Great Britain. In Northern Ireland, the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (EONI) is responsible for both electoral registration and the conduct of elections. For UK parliamentary elections, the costs are met from the Consolidated Fund, with funding provided via the Northern Ireland Office.

The legislative framework

Under section 55 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, the Local Returning Officer and the Police Area Returning Officer at a Police and Crime Commissioner election are entitled to recover charges in respect of their services rendered and expenses incurred in conducting the poll. This legislation requires that these charges are to be paid from the Consolidated Fund.

Charges orders

The maximum recoverable amounts that Local Returning Officers and Police Area Returning Officers can claim for their services and expenses in relation to Police and Crime Commissioner elections are set out in statutory instruments called Charges Orders. 

For the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections, these were The Police and Crime Commissioner Elections (Local Returning Officers’ and Police Area Returning Officers’ Charges) Order 2021, which was made on 23 March 2021.

In addition to setting the maximum recoverable amounts, the Charges Order specifies the types of expenses that Local Returning Officers and Police Area Returning Officers can claim reimbursement for, such as for printing of ballot papers and undertaking the count process. Expenditure that Returning Officers incur must be necessary for the efficient and effective conduct of the poll.

Candidate Information

For Police and Crime Commissioner elections, candidate information is available online on choosemypcc.org.uk. Printed booklets can be requested via the website or directly from the print supplier. In the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections, we paid £134,376 to the contracted print supplier for the printing and mailing of candidate booklets. 

Administration of the funding

In advance of the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner election, the Cabinet Office calculated the estimated level of funding necessary for their effective conduct. 

This included determining the amounts allocated to each Returning Officer for their services and expenses.  

The Cabinet Office then agreed the projected costs with HM Treasury so that funds could be made available from the Consolidated Fund once the relevant Charges Order had been made by the appropriate Minister.

Following the final settlement of all expenditure incurred in respect of the elections, any funds remaining were returned to the Consolidated Fund. 

Returning Officers’ services and expenses – England and Wales

Prior to the election, an initial advance is paid to each Returning Officer of up to 75% of the allocation set out in legislation. Further advances can be made at the relevant minister’s discretion up to a further 15% of the overall MRA. These are made to cover unexpected and/or higher costs which cannot be covered by the initial advance.

Each Returning Officer, with the support of their electoral services team, is responsible for delivering the election within their funding allocation. This requires careful planning to ensure they are setting fees and procuring services for the election to run efficiently and effectively, whilst also delivering value for money.   

Following the election, Returning Officers are required to submit a statement of accounts showing the actual costs incurred in running the poll. 

These accounts are then subjected to a scrutiny process. Once this is complete, where the costs incurred are in excess of any advance, the balance is paid to the Returning Officer on final settlement of the accounts. 

Should an advance exceed the total costs incurred, the Returning Officer must return the excess funds. 

In cases where the total cost of a claim exceeds the maximum recoverable amount allocated, the relevant Minister has the discretion to pay the additional expenses if the Returning Officer can provide evidence that the expenditure was necessary and reasonable for the effective and efficient conduct of the poll. 

Funding review

The Cabinet Office, which previously had overall responsibility for managing the funding process, undertook a wide-ranging review of the elections funding model used for national polls in 2013 to 2014.

This involved extensive consultation with stakeholders and led to a number of significant changes. These included:

• a new methodology for calculating funding allocations to Returning Officers
• a more flexible and proportionate approach to scrutiny
• a reduced deadline for Returning Officers to submit their expenses claims

The changes came into effect at the 2014 European Parliamentary elections.

The funding methodology approach takes the actual settled expenditure at the previous poll of the same type (e.g. for the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections, the 2016 Police and Crime Commissioner settled costs were used) and adjusts it for a number of variables including price inflation, electorate size, registered postal voters and any combination with other polls taking place on the same day, to create a more accurate estimate of expected cost. 

The new scrutiny approach sought to reduce the administrative burden on Returning Officers, while maintaining sufficient assurance over the regularity of claimed expenditure. 

Where a Returning Officer claims for more than the allocated maximum recoverable amount, their claim is automatically moved to the highest scrutiny category.

The Election Claims Unit

The Election Claims Unit (ECU) is a team within UK government that is responsible for the administration of the scrutiny process, issue of advances and settlement of claims.

Returning Officers submit their election claims to the ECU. The ECU is then responsible for checking that costs have been accounted for correctly, that the necessary supporting evidence has been supplied and that the payments claimed  are reimbursable. 

As part of this process, the ECU may request additional information or evidence from the Returning Officer and query items of expenditure. 

Once a claim has been scrutinised and any queries have been resolved, the ECU is responsible for making the payment of the remaining balance to the Returning Officer.    

Costs met centrally

Some elements of the costs of conducting an election are not incurred by Returning Officers and can be paid for centrally from resources drawn from the Consolidated Fund. 

In such instances MHCLG (in 2021 this was done by the Cabinet Office) will typically agree a service level agreement with the service provider. 

An example of this approach is the centralised funding of ‘sweeps’ of mail centres for outstanding postal votes for UK Parliamentary and Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

Combination of polls

Combination of polls refers to the practice by which aspects of the conduct of two or more polls are administered together when the date of those polls coincides.

Where combination is mandatory, combined polls must use the same polling stations. However, other elements of a poll may be voluntarily combined at the discretion of the relevant Returning Officers. This might include issuing a single poll card with details of all the polls that are being combined or postal ballot packs with all ballot papers for the various polls in the same envelope.

There are clear benefits associated with sharing procedures across multiple elections. It provides efficiencies to the administration by eliminating duplication of elements that can be shared across polls. Efficiencies in process also make combination more cost-effective than if the elections were run separately, reducing the overall costs of the polls.

Combination has also been shown to increase turnout in instances where a poll that traditionally experiences lower turnout is combined with a poll where turnout is higher. 

It is not always the case that two polls occurring on the same day are combined and some types of polls cannot be combined with one another. It is, however, mandatory for polls at certain elections to be combined. Police and Crime Commissioner election polls must be combined with ‘ordinary local government elections’ where these coincide. (‘Ordinary’ elections are those that occur according to the regular electoral cycle and not as a result of a vacancy arising at a time polls are not scheduled to take place.).

It is possible for more than two polls to be combined. For instance, a UK parliamentary poll may be combined with a district council poll and a parish council poll. 

In the May 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections, 288 out of 301 voting areas were subject to some degree of combination. They were combined with the Senedd elections across all of the 40 Senedd constituencies in Wales and in England they were combined with local government elections across 248 local authority areas.

In circumstances where polls are subject to combination, the costs of the shared aspects are divided equally between the number of polls.

For example, where poll cards for a Police and Crime Commissioner election are combined with poll cards for a district council election, half of the cost of printing and delivery will be charged to the Consolidated Fund and half to the local authority. If the poll cards were also combined with a parish council election, a third of the cost would be charged to the Consolidated Fund and two thirds (a third for the district council election and a third for the parish council election) would be charged to the local authority. Where a cost is solely attributable to the Police and Crime Commissioner election, for example ballot papers, the whole cost would be paid by the Consolidated Fund.

Efficiencies introduced by combination will often result in lower overall costs to public funds both in respect of the Consolidated Fund and the relevant devolved administration or local authority.

Combination of polls is factored into the calculation of the funding allocations for Returning Officers. The Police and Crime Commissioner Elections (Local Returning Officers’ and Police Area Returning Officers’ Charges) Order 2021 specifies different maximum recoverable amounts for local authorities that were subject to combination and those that were not. 

Returning Officers are required to record clearly which costs have been combined when submitting their accounts to the ECU and are only permitted to claim for the appropriate proportion. 

3. What did the election cost?

The total cost of delivering the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner Elections was £49,332,399. 

This consists of the payments to Returning Officers for their expenses incurred and services rendered, and payments relating to the printing and mailing of candidate booklets on demand. 

It covers all spending in England and Wales that was administered by the Cabinet Office and subsequently DLUHC/MHCLG and paid from the Consolidated Fund in relation to the conduct of the poll.

It does not include any costs incurred in relation to the elections that were not met from the Consolidated Fund, such as expenditure by candidates and parties on campaigning or expenditure incurred by the Electoral Commission. Costs incurred by local authorities in administering local polls taking place at the same time as the PCCs and electoral registration activity are a matter for local authorities and not included in this report. 

The chart on the next page shows a breakdown of the costs which are covered by the different categories of expenditure.

Appendix A provides further summary information, including comparisons between the allocated and actual costs and the costs per elector/valid votes cast.

Appendix B provides a summary of the costs claimed by each Returning Officer and the total expenditure by region.

The full dataset is available online.

Returning Officers’ expenses

The total amount paid to Returning Officers for the expenses incurred in conducting the elections was £47,035,656.

It is important to recognise that local authorities vary widely in terms of size, population, demographic composition and combination with other polls. In 2021, the poll had a much higher level of combination than usual due to the postponement of local elections in 2020 and this was further compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Any comparison with other similar polls must therefore pay careful consideration to the impact of these factors.

Returning Officers’ expenditure is grouped into categories reflecting the different aspects of running the poll:

• polling stations
• postal votes
• poll cards
• the count
• other costs

Each of these categories is then further divided into a number of sub-categories, which specify the type of expenditure.

Polling stations

£20,049,530.52 was spent by Returning Officers on polling stations. 

This is composed of:

• accommodation, staff and equipment for polling stations; and
• the printing of the ballot papers.

The costs of purchasing equipment, such as ballot boxes and polling booths, for use at more than one election have an equal proportion charged to each of the scheduled polls within their usable lifespan.

At the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections there were 27,248 polling stations. 

11,528,840 votes were cast at the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections, representing a turnout of 34.2%. Of these, 7,144,293 votes were cast at polling stations.

Polling station costs at the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner Elections

Category	Cost
Presiding officers	£3,795,238.84
Poll clerks	£4,377,659.24
Supervising officers	£480,500.12
Travel and subsistence	£374,723.17
Training	£1,182,337.30
Permanent accommodation	£2,765,075.22
Temporary accommodation	£683,661.21
Preparation and transport	£1,732,953.14
Equipment	£2,587,434.82
Printing ballot papers	£2,069,947.46

Postal votes

£9,309,770.42 was spent by Returning Officers on postal votes. 

This is composed of:

• production of the postal ballot packs
• preparing, issuing and postage or delivery of packs
• return postage for completed packs
• opening and verifying returned packs, including signature checking

It does not include costs incurred by Electoral Registration Officers in administering the postal vote application process. Registration costs are a matter for local authorities.

Postal ballot papers are included in the same count as the ballot papers from polling stations. The costs of counting postal votes are therefore included in the cost of the overall count. 

6,398,501 electors were issued a postal ballot at the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections. In areas with combined elections 69% of postal electors returned their ballots; in areas with Police and Crime Commissioner elections only, 62% returned their postal ballots.

Postal vote costs at the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner Elections

Category	Cost
Staff: preparation and issue	£232,309.58
Staff: opening and verification	£1,301,116.65
Training	£5,087.29
Printing and stationery	£2,444,483.10
Postage: outbound	£2,287,496.20
Postage: inbound	£1,838,143.70
Accommodation	£405,187.92
Equipment	£795,945.96

Poll cards

£7,686,668.69 was spent by Returning Officers on poll cards. 

This is composed of:

• preparing and printing poll cards; and posting or delivering poll cards

Under legislation each Returning Officer must issue a poll card to every person on the electoral register within their local authority area who is eligible to vote in the election. 

The poll card contains specific information, including the date of the poll and the location of the elector’s polling station. 

Poll cards may be sent in more than one batch to ensure that they arrive in a timely manner and are received by all those electors registered by the deadline for registration.

Poll card costs at the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner Elections

Category	Cost
Staff: preparation	£56,779.11
Equipment	£6,604.74
Printing and stationery	£838,502.42
Postage/delivery	£6,784,782.42

The count

£7,191,233.94 was spent by Returning Officers on the verification and counting of votes. 

This comprises the costs for all aspects of the count process, including:

• verifying that the number of ballots received does not exceed the number issued; and
• counting the ballot papers.

Verification took place following the close of polls in England and Wales. The PARO directed the sequencing and timing of all the Counts across their Police Force Area including verification. As a result, in Police Force areas where the PCC election was also combined with principal council elections, PAROs usually directed that verification took place after the close of polls, with the PCC papers then being stored to the following day to be counted. Once that was done the LRO could undertake the count for the Principal Council poll.

Where there was no combination with principal council elections, the PAROs tended to allow a more flexible approach, namely that the LRO could verify their PCC papers after the close of poll and then store them till the following day for the PCC count.

Alternatively, they could store them unverified overnight and then verify them at the start of the day of the PCC count before the count was scheduled to commence.

11.6 million ballots were verified of which 11.2 million valid votes were counted, and 456,447 ballots were rejected (at the first stage of the supplementary vote count). 

Count costs at the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner Elections

Category	Cost
Count staff	£2,348,981.02
Supervising staff	£1,675,309.70
Travel and subsistence	£43,452.69
Training	£89,307.83
Accommodation	£1,566,893.04
Equipment	£1,004,964.32
Transport	£161,117.55
Security	£301,207.79

Encouraging participation

£59,148.11 was spent by Police Area Returning Officers on encouraging participation. 

Under the Police and Crime Commissioner Elections (Functions of Returning Officers) Regulations 2012, there is a requirement for Police Area Returning Officers to undertake activities as they feel appropriate to encourage participation in the PCC election.

Encouraging participation costs at the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner Elections

Category	Cost
Encouraging Participation	£59,148.11

Other costs

£2,739,303.87 was claimed by Returning Officers for other costs.

Returning Officers may claim under this heading for costs that they necessarily incur for the conduct of the poll that cannot be classified under any of the other categories.

This includes items such as general administration, travel, subsistence and training, which are not specifically or exclusively related to one particular aspect of the poll.

It also includes the following specific costs:

• costs for running the nominations process (for Police Area Returning Officers)
• publishing notice of election and statement of persons nominated
• translation services
• legal advice
• employer pension contributions for elections staff if applicable

Other costs at the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner Elections

Category	Cost
Staffing costs	£1,063,260.01
Travel and subsistence	£6,101.05
Training	£528,599.76
Materials and services	£1,097,943.65
Nominations	£19,405.30
Translation	£3,324.51
Legal advice	£17,246.10
Election Staff superannuation	£3,423.48

Returning Officers’ services

The total amount paid to Local and Police Area Returning Officers in England and Wales for their services in conducting the elections was £1,940,367.25. 

While the individuals are also employees of local authorities, the role of the Returning Officer is statutory and legally independent of the local authority. Returning Officers are personally responsible by law for the effective conduct of the poll. Therefore, the law provides for a fee to be paid to the Returning Officers for their services rendered in delivering the poll. 

Fee for services

The cost of Returning Officers’ services is made up of the fee itself.

The fee for Local Returning Officers was calculated at a rate of £475 per 10,000 electors. Where this amount would be less than £2,500, they were entitled to a minimum of £2,500 to recognise a minimum level of work that is required regardless of the size of the electorate. Police Area Returning Officers received a flat fee of £8,000 for their services.

Where a poll was combined, the fee for Local Returning Officers was uplifted by 20% to take account of the added complexity of running combined polls (a portion of this is paid by the Consolidated Fund and the remainder is a matter for the local authority who funds the local polls). 

It is at the discretion of the Local Returning Officer whether they claim the whole fee, part of the fee, or do not claim  it at all. 

12 of 340 Returning Officers (including Police Area Returning Officers) opted not to claim some or all of the fee. The amount not claimed ranged from 3.64% to 100% of the MRA.

A Returning Officer may also opt to give a proportion, or all of their fee to one or more people to whom they have delegated responsibility for an aspect of the conduct of the poll. This does not alter the maximum amount that can be claimed. 

There is a provision for part or all of the fee to be withheld on the advice of the Electoral Commission, where delivery of a poll was not executed effectively. No fees were withheld under this provision for the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner Elections.

Superannuation

The fees payable to Returning Officers for their services in delivering the Police and Crime Commissioner elections are not pensionable under the terms of the Local Government Pension Scheme. No payments were made to Returning Officers for superannuation in relation to this poll.

Insurance and indemnity 

As indicated previously, Returning Officers are statutorily independent of central and local government and, as a result, are personally liable for a variety of costs. These include legal costs if an election is challenged and any public or employer liability claims.

Returning Officers in Great Britain generally have insurance to cover public liabilities, employers’ liabilities, liabilities incurred in their professional role, and liabilities for personal injury in respect of their duties at general elections and sometimes other elections. 

Cabinet Office provided a further indemnity to cover any gaps in the existing insurance arrangements for the PCC elections in 2021.

No costs were incurred or paid under this indemnity arrangement at the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

Centrally funded expenditure

The total cost of payments made directly to suppliers by the Cabinet Office in respect of the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections was £356,376.

This cost consisted of payments to Williams Lea and Royal Mail.

Candidate information

Williams Lea provided the printing and postage of candidate information booklets requested via the choosemypcc.org.uk website and the free phone number at a cost of £134,376.

Postal vote ‘sweeps’

This is a practice by which Royal Mail undertake a ‘sweep’ of sorting offices on polling day to identify postal vote return envelopes. These can then be gathered together and delivered to the relevant Returning Officer before the close of the poll so that they can be included in the count. 

Although these costs are incurred under the legislative provision for Returning Officers’ expenses, for the sake of efficiency HM Treasury has previously agreed that such costs can be paid centrally to Royal Mail on behalf of Returning Officers. 

Postal vote ‘sweeps’ are not mandatory; for the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections the government paid Royal Mail £222,000 centrally for postal vote ‘sweeps. 

Other election related expenditure

The costs detailed above include only those charged to the Consolidated Fund. Some costs may have been incurred by Returning Officers and local authorities that were not claimed from the Consolidated Fund, or which could not be claimed from the Consolidated Fund.

There are also several other types of associated expenditure not related to the conduct of elections which are not met from the Consolidated Fund. These are incurred by groups other than the government, such as the Electoral Commission and political parties and candidates.  

Since these costs are not part of the cost of conducting the election, and – with the exception of costs incurred by the Electoral Commission – are not paid from public funds, they are not included in this report. However, these categories of expenditure are summarised below. 

Party and independent candidate deposits

Candidates who stand in a UK parliamentary election or a Police and Crime Commissioner election are required to pay a deposit. In the case of a Police and Crime Commissioner election a deposit of £5,000 is payable by each candidate.

The deposit is held by the Police Area Returning Officer and will be returned if the candidate polls more than 5% of the total number of valid first preference votes cast in the police force area.

If a candidate does not reach this threshold the deposit is forfeited. Police Area Returning Officers are obliged to surrender forfeited deposits to the Consolidated Fund within 24 hours of the result being declared.

Following the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections, £105,000 was paid into the Consolidated Fund in forfeited deposits.

Candidate election expenses

Election expenses are certain costs incurred by candidates for the purpose of procuring or promoting their election after the date at which they become a candidate.

Campaign expenditure

Campaign expenditure relates to certain costs incurred by political parties in promoting or procuring the election of their candidates or otherwise increasing the standing of the party or their candidates at an election. The same applies to independent candidates.

Non-party campaign spending at PCC elections

Third-party campaigners at PCC elections in England and Wales that are campaigning for or against candidates standing in a police area are subject to spending limits particular to their police area. Complaints about breaches of these rules should be made to the police.

These spending limits vary for each police area and cover spending on most campaign activities, including leaflets, meetings and digital campaigning.

Campaigners authorised by a candidate’s agent to incur spending above the spending limit in a police area, are required to submit a spending return to the returning officer for those expenses. The return must be accompanied by a declaration verifying the return and a copy of the authorisation from the election agent. The return must be completed within 21 days of the election result being declared.

The Electoral Commission

The Electoral Commission is an independent body that was established by Parliament to regulate party and election finance and set standards for well-run elections. The Commission does not regulate local campaigning at PCC elections.

In fulfilling its statutory responsibilities, the Electoral Commission necessarily incurs costs relating to elections held within the UK. 

The Electoral Commission produces an Annual Report and Accounts each financial year, providing a comprehensive statement of the costs of its activities. The Annual Report and Accounts for 2021 to 2022 covers the period of the Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

The Electoral Commission also has a statutory responsibility for increasing public awareness of UK elections. This includes undertaking activities designed to increase participation in elections, in terms of both registration and voting, which will involve incurring costs in respect of elections generally.

Appendix A: Summary data

Financial summary

	Credit (£000s)	Debit (£000s)
Payments to Returning Officers
…in respect of services		1,940
…in respect of expenses		47,036
Centrally incurred expenditure
…in respect of postal vote ‘sweeps’		222
…in respect of delivery of candidate mailings		134
Forfeited candidate deposits	105
Total	105	49,332
Total NET Expenditure		49,227

Allocated and actual costs

Returning Officers’ Expenses by Police Area

Police Area	Funding allocation (£)	Actual expenditure (£)	+/- (£)
Avon and Somerset	68,756.00	68,756.00	-
Bedfordshire	32,305.00	32,305.00	-
Cambridgeshire	38,341.00	38,170.00	- 171.00
Cheshire	49,662.00	49,662.00	-
Cleveland	28,811.00	28,811.00	-
Cumbria	28,932.00	28,932.00	-
Derbyshire	47,524.00	47,524.00	-
Devon and Cornwall	77,726.00	77,726.00	-
Dorset	37,588.00	37,588.00	-
Durham	31,658.00	31,658.00	-
Dyfed-Powys	27,916.00	27,916.00	-
Essex	74,636.00	74,636.00	-
Gloucestershire	31,970.00	31,970.00	-
Gwent	29,180.00	29,180.00	-
Hampshire	80,952.00	80,952.00	-
Hertfordshire	50,987.00	50,987.00	-
Humberside	44,469.00	34,497.25	- 9,971.75
Kent	72,847.00	72,847.00	-
Lancashire	63,596.00	63,596.00	-
Leicestershire	50,380.00	50,380.00	-
Lincolnshire	36,335.00	36,335.00	-
Merseyside	58,706.00	58,706.00	-
Norfolk	42,313.00	42,313.00	-
North Wales	35,887.00	35,791.00	- 96.00
North Yorkshire	40,406.00	40,406.00	-
Northamptonshire	35,003.00	35,003.00	-
Northumbria	61,601.00	61,601.00	-
Nottinghamshire	48,631.00	48,631.00	-
South Wales	56,763.00	43,069.00	- 13,694.00
South Yorkshire	57,923.00	57,923.00	-
Staffordshire	50,970.00	50,714.00	-256.00
Suffolk	36,073.00	36,073.00	-
Surrey	51,769.00	51,769.00	-
Sussex	70,112.00	70,112.00	-
Thames Valley	94,260.00	94,260.00	-
Warwickshire	29,549.00	29,549.00	-
West Mercia	56,767.00	49,334.00	- 7,433.00
West Midlands	106,738.00	106,738.00	-
Wiltshire	34,366.00	33,947.00	- 419.00
Total	1,972,408.00	1,940,367.25	- 32,040.75

*Note that superannuation is not applicable for Returning Officers at PCC elections.

Returning Officers’ expenses by police area

Police Area	Funding allocation (£)	Actual expenditure (£)	+/- (£)
Avon and Somerset	3,028,080.00	2,128,181.50	- 899,898.50
Bedfordshire	1,260,251.00	1,061,073.02	- 199,177.98
Cambridgeshire	795,272.00	684,147.26	- 111,124.74
Cheshire	1,997,015.00	1,536,066.62	- 460,948.38
Cleveland	667,137.00	470,571.67	- 196,565.33
Cumbria	1,339,611.00	1,025,849.78	- 313,761.22
Derbyshire	1,325,993.00	1,071,263.32	-  254,729.68
Devon and Cornwall	2,928,336.00	2,027,055.46	- 901,280.54
Dorset	1,683,725.00	1,095,677.42	- 588,047.58
Durham	796,810.00	596,670.86	- 200,139.14
Dyfed-Powys	931,421.00	814,391.93	- 117,029.07
Essex	1,867,062.00	1,515,702.95	- 351,359.05
Gloucestershire	717,395.00	605,102.23	- 112,292.77
Gwent	726,858.00	629,032.94	- 97,825.06
Hampshire	2,106,622.00	1,667,624.81	-                    438,997.19
Hertfordshire	1,257,833.00	1,016,116.43	- 241,716.57
Humberside	1,560,449.00	1,250,180.41	- 310,268.59
Kent	2,393,294.00	1,874,089.71	- 519,204.29
Lancashire	1,837,927.00	1,372,737.21	- 465,189.79
Leicestershire	1,507,454.00	1,395,327.44	- 112,126.56
Lincolnshire	994,037.00	813,985.85	- 180,051.15
Merseyside	1,067,629.00	748,477.76	- 319,151.24
Norfolk	1,100,979.00	871,205.72	- 229,773.28
North Wales	985,170.00	814,684.02	- 170,485.98
North Yorkshire	1,811,420.00	1,489,502.66	- 321,917.34
Northamptonshire	1,041,446.00	753,928.68	- 287,517.32
Northumbria	1,812,320.00	1,547,059.44	- 265,260.56
Nottinghamshire	1,647,788.00	1,295,954.31	- 351,833.69
South Wales	1,795,326.00	1,627,022.87	- 168,303.13
South Yorkshire	1,449,781.00	1,104,078.09	- 345,702.91
Staffordshire	1,691,795.00	1,205,719.21	- 486,075.79
Suffolk	924,589.00	657,644.78	- 266,944.22
Surrey	1,515,445.00	1,214,279.85	- 301,165.15
Sussex	2,248,802.00	1,689,894.51	- 558,907.49
Thames Valley	3,129,948.00	2,438,145.83	- 691,802.17
Warwickshire	708,663.00	635,793.57	- 72,869.43
West Mercia	2,007,947.00	1,551,484.67	- 456,462.33
West Midlands	2,623,984.00	2,045,019.34	- 578,964.66
Wiltshire	941,955.00	694,911.42	- 247,043.58
Total	60,227,569.00	47,035,655.55	-£ 13,191,913.45

Other costs

Cost type	Funding allocation (£)	Actual expenditure (£)	+/- (£)
Printing and postage of candidate booklets	214,027.12	134,376.13	-79,650.99
Postal vote ‘sweeps’	265,203.12	222,000.00	-43,203.12
Total	479,230.24	356,376.13	-122,854.11

Average costs per elector/vote/unit

Per elector/vote costs by Police Area*

Police Area	Total cost (£)	Electorate	Votes cast	Cost per elector (£)	Cost per vote (£)
Avon and Somerset	2,196,937.50	1,305,187	401,197	1.68	5.48
Bedfordshire	1,093,378.02	497,552	124,575	2.20	8.78
Cambridgeshire	722,317.26	637,388	237,051	1.13	3.05
Cheshire	1,585,728.62	841,050	227,481	1.89	6.97
Cleveland	499,382.67	416,822	143,596	1.20	3.48
Cumbria	1,054,781.78	390,454	107,995	2.70	9.77
Derbyshire	1,118,787.32	802,549	286,285	1.39	3.91
Devon and Cornwall	2,104,781.46	1,371,006	521,469	1.54	4.04
Dorset	1,133,265.42	599,134	154,153	1.89	7.35
Durham	628,328.86	472,579	167,807	1.33	3.74
Dyfed-Powys	842,307.93	401,482	214,116	2.10	3.93
Essex	1,590,338.95	1,381,399	453,621	1.15	3.51
Gloucestershire	637,072.23	490,449	201,424	1.30	3.16
Gwent	658,212.94	431,612	177,093	1.53	3.72
Hampshire	1,748,576.81	1,495,793	544,366	1.17	3.21
Hertfordshire	1,067,103.43	879,851	328,326	1.21	3.25
Humberside	1,284,677.66	701,092	161,535	1.83	7.95
Kent	1,946,936.71	1,354,445	418,215	1.44	4.66
Lancashire	1,436,333.21	1,134,485	386,226	1.27	3.72
Leicestershire	1,445,707.44	814,836	253,425	1.77	5.70
Lincolnshire	850,320.85	569,405	178,255	1.49	4.77
Merseyside	807,183.76	1,057,922	329,329	0.76	2.45
Norfolk	913,518.72	700,038	227,233	1.30	4.02
North Wales	850,475.02	525,031	225,322	1.62	3.77
North Yorkshire	1,529,908.66	628,252	158,946	2.44	9.63
Northamptonshire	788,931.68	566,339	199,325	1.39	3.96
Northumbria	1,608,660.44	1,068,455	398,129	1.51	4.04
Nottinghamshire	1,344,585.31	826,877	282,534	1.63	4.76
South Wales	1,670,091.87	985,240	453,462	1.70	3.68
South Yorkshire	1,162,001.09	1,013,960	314,134	1.15	3.70
Staffordshire	1,256,433.21	830,193	247,079	1.51	5.09
Suffolk	693,717.78	566,542	210,658	1.22	3.29
Surrey	1,266,048.85	886,188	334,025	1.43	3.79
Sussex	1,760,006.51	1,298,351	463,786	1.36	3.79
Thames Valley	2,532,405.83	1,803,112	650,307	1.40	3.89
Warwickshire	665,342.57	447,802	171,587	1.49	3.88
West Mercia	1,600,818.67	984,013	327,589	1.63	4.89
West Midlands	2,151,757.34	2,010,087	627,322	1.07	3.43
Wiltshire	728,858.42	542,325	219,862	1.34	3.32
England	44,954,935	31,385,932	10,458,847	1.43	4.30
Wales	4,021,088	2,343,365	1,069,993	1.72	3.76
Total England and Wales	48,976,023	33,729,297	11,528,840	1.45	4.25

*Excludes centrally incurred costs such as candidate mailings.

Per elector/vote costs by category

Category	Total cost (£)	Electorate	Votes cast*	Cost per elector (£)	Cost per vote (£)
Returning Officers’ services	1,940,367	33,729,297	11,528,840	0.06	0.17
Polling stations**	20,049,531	27,323,548	7,144,293	0.73	2.81
Postal votes***	9,309,770	6,405,749	4,384,547	1.45	2.12
Poll cards	7,686,669	33,729,297	11,528,840	0.23	0.67
The count	7,191,234	33,729,297	11,528,840	0.21	0.62
Other costs	2,739,304	33,729,297	11,528,840	0.08	0.24
Centrally incurred costs	356,376	33,729,297	11,528,840	0.01	0.03

*Includes both ballot box votes and postal votes rejected at the count.
*Excludes postal votes and electors registered to vote by post.
**Only includes postal votes and electors registered to vote by post.