To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the cost of Bedfordshire county council’s campaign to become a unitary authority to date; how much she expects to be spent in total; and how much these figures represent per council tax payer. (181063)

We have made no such estimate. Spending by Bedfordshire county council in connection with, and in support of, their proposal for unitary status is a matter for the council, its auditors and council tax payers. The Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity, to which councils are required to conform, provides that councils should not use public funds to mount publicity campaigns whose primary purpose is to persuade the public to hold a particular view on a question of policy.