Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 September 2017 to Question 3402, on Department for Communities and Local Government: advertising, what the reasons are for the increase in social media advertising spending in March 2017.

The increase in spend in March was due to the Regional Mayoral Elections, accounting for 73 per cent of the spend in that month.

The objective of the campaign was to raise public awareness ahead of the regional elections held on 4 May 2017.

This is in support of the Government's aim to enable a shift in power from central to local government, with decentralisation bringing power closer to local communities. My department wants cities to have more control over transport, housing, skills and healthcare with elected mayors.