Schools and rooms for PCC election meetings
56.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this article, a candidate for a police area at a PCC election is entitled for the purpose of holding public meetings in furtherance of the candidature to the use free of charge at reasonable times between the last date for publication of notice of the election and the day preceding the date of the poll of—
(a)a suitable room in the premises of a school to which this article applies;
(b)any meeting room to which this article applies.
(2) This article applies to community, foundation and voluntary schools of which the premises are situated in the police area.
(3) This article applies to meeting rooms situated in the police area, the expense of maintaining which is payable wholly or mainly out of public funds, or by a body whose expenses are so payable.
(4) Where a room is used for a meeting in pursuance of the rights conferred by this article, the person by whom or on whose behalf the meeting is convened—
(a)must defray any expenses incurred in preparing, warming, lighting and cleaning the room and providing attendance for the meeting and restoring the room to its usual condition after the meeting, and
(b)must defray any damage done to the room or the premises in which it is situated, or to the furniture, fittings or apparatus in the room or premises.
(5) A candidate is not entitled to exercise the rights conferred by this article except on reasonable notice; and this article does not authorise any interference with the hours during which a room in school premises is used for educational purposes, or any interference with the use of a meeting room either for the purposes of the person maintaining it or under a prior agreement for its letting for any purpose.
(6) For the purposes of this article (except those of paragraph (4)(b)), the premises of a school are not to be taken to include any private dwelling.
(7) In this article—
“dwelling” includes any part of a building where that part is occupied separately as a dwelling;
“meeting room” means any room which it is the practice to let for public meetings;
“room” includes a hall, gallery or gymnasium.