§ 180. Mrs. GormanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what monitoring he is undertaking of the response of Basildon district council following the announcement of the trial rents into mortgages scheme for Basildon new town tenants;
(2) what powers he has to prevent local authorities from campaigning against rents into mortgages schemes.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerMy right hon. Friend has no powers to prevent local authorities from campaigning on any question. Local authorities must, however, have regard to the code of recommended practice on local authority publicity, which says that publicity material should be
objective, balanced, informative and accurate".I understand that Basildon district council has passed a resolution which gives a guarded welcome to the scheme.