§ Mr. Frank CookTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the amount necessary to be made available to the Post Office to cover the delivery of post-free election material in 2001. [158216]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienIf there is a general election in 2001, we estimate that the delivery costs of candidates' election mailings for that election will amount to around £17.6 million at current rates, though this is dependent on the number of candidates taking advantage of this entitlement. If there were by-elections, the costs would depend on their number and the number of candidates participating.