Guidance for Candidates and Agents at Police and Crime Commissioner elections

During the regulated period, spending on any of the following activities will count as candidate spending if the activity promotes the candidate:

• advertising of any kind except the official election address that you can place on the Cabinet Office website.1  For example, posters, newspaper adverts, websites, or videos
• unsolicited material sent to voters.2  For example, letters, leaflets, or emails you send that aren’t in response to specific queries
• transport costs.3  For example, hire cars or public transport for your campaigners
• public meetings.4  For example, reimbursing expenses of attendees, hiring premises and paying for goods, services or facilities for a public meeting
• staff costs.5  For example, an agent’s salary, or staff seconded to you by their employer. You do not need to include time spent on your campaign by volunteers
• accommodation.6  For example, your campaign office
• administrative costs.7  For example, telephone bills, stationery, photocopying and the use of databases

This includes:

• all costs associated with an activity. For example, if you are producing leaflets or advertising, you must include the design and distribution costs
• items or services bought before the regulated period that you use during the regulated period
• some items or services given to you free of charge or at a discount that you make use of during the regulated period. See Notional spending for more information.

This spending must be reported in your spending return after the election. More details on each category are given on the following pages.

VAT

If you have paid VAT on an item, you must include this when reporting the costs of the item in your return. You must still include VAT even if it can be reclaimed as a business expense. 

Invoices for payments made to companies based overseas may not always include VAT. If you have paid VAT, you should include this as part of the cost of the item when reporting, even if VAT is not included on the invoice.

For example, you pay for digital material to be published as adverts on a social media platform based overseas. You paid VAT on the adverts, but your invoice does not include VAT. You must still include the VAT you paid when reporting the costs of the adverts in your return.