Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the additional cost of delivering the local and Police and Crime Commissioner elections in May 2020 as a result of the May bank holiday change; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that sufficient funding is made available for electoral administrators to cater for additional costs.

The Government recognises that there may be additional costs incurred by local authorities in the running of elections next May as a consequence of the move of the early Bank Holiday from 4 to 8 May in order to recognise the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day. We have asked local authority Returning Officers to provide estimates of these costs so that additional monies can be assessed and made available to them to cover the costs.