Local elections in England and Wales are expected go ahead this spring despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Contests that were due to be held in 2020 were postponed by the first lockdown, and there had also been doubts that they would go ahead this year.
But the democratic exercise will go ahead in May, with an extra £70 million made available to make polling stations Covid-19 secure, according to government sources cited by BBC News.
Divider screens and hand sanitiser will be provided to voters, and masks will be made compulsory in polling stations.
Elections due to take place include local councils elections in England, combined authority mayoral elections, the mayor of London elections and London Assembly elections, and police and crime commissioner elections in England and Wales.
The governments of Scotland and Wales will separately decide whether to hold elections scheduled for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Parliament, which were also postponed in 2020.
Ministers had previously said the 6 May elections were under review again because of the latest lockdown restrictions and uncertainty over when they would end.
The Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay while in Scotland, and The Princess Royal after attending the Order of the Thistle Service for the installation of The Right Honourable Dame Elish Angiolini and The Right Honourable Sir George Reid, at St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh
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Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour party, speaks during PMQs
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Rafael Nadal attempts to reach the ball during his first round Wimbledon match against Francisco Cerundolo
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The cleaning up begins after the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm
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Paul McCartney, from left, Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen perform at Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset
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The crowd watching Wet Leg performing on the Park Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset
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An aerial view of the Glastonbury Festival site
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Festivalgoers on the first day of Glastonbury Festival
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A general view of an empty platform at Paddington Station in London, as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union begin their nationwide strike in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions
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Handout photo issued by the Big Issue of the Duke of Cambridge selling the Big Issue in London
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Visitors explore the Arboria II luminaria, created by Architects of Air, during the Meliora Festival at the Beacon Arts Centre in Inverclyde. Arboria II is inspired by the geometry of nature and also Islamic architecture and features winding passages of small domes with light and colours created purely by daylight shining through the coloured plastic structure
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Demonstrators march in a trades union organised protest opposed to British government policies at Parliament Square in London, Britain
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Crowds on Bournemouth beach during a heatwave
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Paige Dawson, 28, takes a selfie with her baby bump in a huge field of poppies in flower in Bramford, Suffolk
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The royal procession arrives into the parade ring ahead of racing on day two of Royal Ascot
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Flowers and tributes left outside of Grenfell Tower on the fifth anniversary of the fire that killed 72 people
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Protestors demonstrate outside the Home Office building against the governments plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda
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Members of the 2nd Battalion the Scots Guards, march through the streets of Blackpool, Lancashire to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War
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Members of the public attend the Royal Windsor Flower Show at the York Club in Windsor Great Park
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Pupils with Petty Officer Tommy O'Toole from the Royal Navy with the world's first mobile luge ramp, designed and manufactured by engineering students at Glasgow Caledonian University with the help of pupils from six Renfrewshire primary schools
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A traveller rides a horse in the River Eden at the Appleby Horse Fair, the annual gathering of gypsies and travellers in Appleby, Cumbria
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An activist from Extinction Rebellion holds a dog wearing a construction helmet as they attend a protest during a biodiversity conference being held at Dublin Castle, calling for legal protection for Ireland’s wildlife
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Downing Street staff take down Jubilee bunting outside 10 Downing Street in London. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has survived a “vote of no confidence” over his leadership but has lost over forty percent of support from his MP’s following the vote at parliament
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Gannets gathered at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire, as over 250,000 seabirds flock to the chalk cliffs to find a mate and raise their young. From April to August the cliffs come alive with nest-building adults and young chicks
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Performers take part in the Platinum Jubilee Pageant
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Past and present jockeys who have ridden Queen Elizabeth II’s horses line up dressed in her colours on Derby Day
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Prince Harry makes a face as he waits for the start of the National Service of Thanksgiving for The Queen’s reign at Saint Paul’s Cathedral
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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II stands on the Balcony of Buckingham Palace bas the troops march past during the Queen’s Birthday Parade, the Trooping the Colour
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Gardeners David Kay and Lou Singfield tend to the wildflower meadow which has burst into flower at King's College in Cambridge
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Sir Sean Connery's Aston Martin DB5 which is expected to fetch up to £1.4 million at auction. The family of the James Bond actor, who died in October 2020 aged 90, is selling the 1964 classic car to raise money for a philanthropy fund set up in his name
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Corgi Charles and friends enjoy a spot of tea during The Jubilee Tea Pawty at award winning doggy day care, Bruce’s
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Nottingham Forest’s Cafu celebrates after winning the Championship Play-Off Final against Huddersfield Town at Wembley
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Balloons light up as they are tethered to the ground during the night glow at the Isle of Wight Balloon Festival at Robin Hill Country Park, Isle of Wight
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A crow chases an urban fox, who has dug up a bird carcass, outside the Old Bailey, central London
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Pedestrians walk past a 'Living Wall' art project, produced in collaboration with The National Portrait Galler and the Earls Court Development Company, in west London
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Guests during a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in London
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People walk past the Liverpool Street station sign along the Elizabeth Line on its first day of service as it joins the London Underground network in London, Britain
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A young child amongst group of people thought to be migrants is carried by a member of the military as they are brought in to Dover, Kent
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Fernandinho of Manchester City lifts the Premier League trophy after their side finished the season as Premier League champions during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Aston Villa
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France's Thibault Laly during day one of the Mercedes-Benz UCI MTB World Cup event in Fort William
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Chef Jamie Oliver takes part in the ‘What an Eton Mess’ demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to reconsider his U-turn on the Government’s anti-obesity strategy
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Sculpture conservator Marisa Prandelli adjusts a display of heads of ‘Cybermen’ in the monster vault at the ‘Doctor Who: Worlds of Wonder’ exhibition which opens at the World Museum later this month in Liverpool
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People cross Regent Street, decorated with flags to mark the upcoming platinum jubilee , to mark the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on a Elizabeth Line train at Paddington station in London
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Protesters from Border Communities Against Brexit outside Hillsborough Castle during a visit by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Northern Ireland for talks with Stormont parties
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Queen Elizabeth II departs following the A Gallop Through History Platinum Jubilee celebration at the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Windsor Castle
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Heat haze softens the scene as a paraglider takes to the sky over the cliffs above Boscombe beach in Dorset
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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard and daughter Gabriella as they leave 10 Downing Street, after a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson
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Rebekah Vardy leaves the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, during high-profile libel battle between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney
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A Goldeneye swims in the rain at Slimbridge wetlands, Gloucestershire
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But constitution minister Chloe Smith had told MPs in January the threshold for postponing them again was a relatively "high bar" because of their importance.
Despite the latest hint to prepare for polls, concerns remain in local government about whether enough volunteers can be found to staff the exercise during the pandemic.
Others have also pointed out that civic venues usually used for polling stations are also being pressed into service as vaccination centres.
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