§ Mr. SymsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much money the Government have spent on publicity costs in relation to the Greater London Authority and associated bodies. [115513]
§ Mr. HillIn the run-up to the London Referendum between May 1997 and 7 May 1998 the total publicity budget was £1.6 million. There was no publicity budget for publicising the Greater London Authority between the Referendum and Royal Assent for the Greater London Authority Act 1999 in November 1999.
The Government are currently running a multi-media information campaign to ensure that Londoners know about the new voting process on 4 May and understand how the Mayor and Assembly will affect their daily lives. The total budget for this campaign is £4.1 million—about 81p per London elector. Approximately £2.9 million will be spent in the current financial year and £1.2 million in 2000–01.
In addition, following the recent amendment to the Greater London Authority Act 1999, the Government have agreed to spend £1.7 million on a booklet prepared by the Greater London Returning Officer containing election addresses by Mayoral candidates.