§ Mr. Gowasked the Lord President of the Council by what authority, bearing in mind that the Referendum Bill has not yet received the Royal Assent, expenditure was incurred on the publication, on behalf of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, of the three documents, "Your Vote Counts—Use It", "Why you Should Vote Yes" and "Why You Should Vote No"; by what authority the documents were published; and what was the cost thereof.
§ Mr. Edward ShortThe House approved the money resolution for the Referendum Bill after Second Reading on 10th April. The Bill and its associated expenditure have therefore been agreed in principle and there are many instances where essential expenditure is then incurred in anticipation of a Bill's receiving Royal Assent. In accordance with the usual practice in such cases, an advance from the Contingencies Fund has been authorised by the Treasury pending the presentation of a Supplementary Estimate. The estimated cost of printing and distributing the three documents is about £2 million.