asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the cost of administering each county and district council in Wales in the past year for which figures are available.

Total cost of administration figures are not readily available at local authority level. Figures giving general administration costs for the whole of Wales are published in "Local Government Financial Statistics", but cover only the costs of central administration departments before recharging to individual services. Information on the expenditure of individual local authorities can be obtained from the authorities concerned.