BICKERING council leaders insist £400,000 spent on a war of words about a 'super council' has not been wasted.

The figure was revealed after Freedom of Information requests by the Oxford Mail to the six biggest Oxfordshire authorities.

It lays bare the cash spent as they have locked horns over plans for a shake-up, with both sides spending tens of thousands of pounds on advertising, consultants and leaflets in the past year.

The super council would replace Oxfordshire County Council, the four district councils and Oxford City Council, running all services under one roof and saving £20m a year – or £400,000 a week.

It is supported by the county council, Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire district council and – despite opposition from other authorities and most local MPs – they yesterday formally submitted the idea to Communities Secretary Sajid Javid.

Yesterday they and their opponents rejected claims the £400,000 spent on campaigning for and against the proposals, respectively, was a waste of taxpayers' money.

But Ian Green, of Oxford Civic Society, branded them 'irresponsible' and said they should have 'sat down and talked' instead.

He added: "This is not money well-spent. Instead of talking to each other, our local authorities have decided to spend £400,000 on justifying their disagreements.

"It is irresponsible for them to do that when they should be focusing on reaching a consensus.

"We are now in a situation where a proposal supported by only three of the six main councils has gone to the Secretary of State [Mr Javid]. It is simply not good enough.

"What has been put forward is not sufficiently thorough – we hope Mr Javid will send it back.

"We want our authorities to sit down and talk to each other, not waste more taxpayers' money."

Figures disclosed to the Oxford Mail show the most was spent in total by Oxfordshire County Council, at £177,303.

However, this included a £100,000 report it commissioned last year from consultancy to look at options for how councils could be reorganised.

A similar report was jointly commissioned by the four districts and city council, also costing about £100,000.

The next biggest sums spent were £78,400 by Oxford City Council, £57,137 by West Oxfordshire, £31,866 by Cherwell, £31,610 by South Oxfordshire and £25,000 by Vale of White Horse.

The overall costs are likely to keep rising, with all of the authorities admitting they were poised to spend even more.

Matthew Barber, leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, insisted cash used by his council was 'well-spent' if it resulted in a shake-up.

He added: "That money has gone towards serious work that could make a real difference. If we pull it [reorganisation] off, then the savings will be significant."

And John Cotton, of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: "I completely understand £400,000 will be seen as a huge amount of money.

"But to put it into context, we hope to save the same amount every single week if the [super council plan] goes forward.

"I think that is a very good investment. Would it have been better if we all agreed? Of course it would."

County council leader Ian Hudspeth said: "We commissioned thorough financial analysis and engaged the public to help us improve the proposal. As a result, we have a positive, workable plan to improve services and hand greater control over decision-making to local communities.

"While it is a lot of money, we believe we got good value and that the potential benefits are well worth the cost.”

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price, whose authority led the 'Hands off Oxford City' campaign and sent leaflets to thousands of city households, said: "We were advised by the Government to commission studies to examine unitary council options. That expenditure was necessary if we were to put in a successful bid [for devolution].

"But over the past three months, the county council has run a campaign for a hostile takeover of the Oxfordshire district councils.

"The districts have of course had to respond to this aggressive campaign and dispel the myths and misleading assertions which have characterised it."

West Oxfordshire District Council leader James Mills said: "It is disappointing we have had to spend this money, because there are better things it could have gone on.

"But it was clear from talking to residents in our area that they think a super council is a bad idea and we are representing them.

"What I would say is that back in September, all six councils agreed to work on a joint devolution proposal. Since then, the county council and Vale of White Horse leaders have said 'devolution is dead'.

"That doesn't leave much room for negotiation."

Cherwell District Council leader Barry Wood did not return the Oxford Mail's calls.

In response to the bid, a spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said any bids for a super council would be given careful consideration.