The government polls and surveys that cost the taxpayer more than £1m a week

More than £1million a week is being spent on Government focus groups, surveys and opinion polls to find what voters think.

In all, £55million has been paid out over the past year for a bewildering range of citizens' juries, telephone and internet polls and consumer surveys.

The most expensive project was a survey to ascertain the 'public acceptability' of charging motorists for every mile they drive, which cost the Department of Transport £566,111.

It was followed by a project to test ' attitudes to climate change', also conducted by the Department for Transport, which cost £411,500.

The Environment Department spent £13,585 asking the public about their 'attitude to farmers' and £5,165 gauging 'consumer attitudes to water efficiency of bathroom fittings'.

The International Development Department commissioned a £7,400 survey to measure interest in 'shopping ethically for Valentine's Day'.

The biggest spending department was Health, which paid £10,432,843 for polls and surveys.

A single polling firm, Ipsos-MORI, appears to have been paid at least £31million over the last two years.

The Conservatives, who uncovered the figures with Parliamentary questions to every Whitehall department, accused the Government of an 'astonishing waste of taxpayers' money' during an economic downturn.

Their local government spokesman Eric Pickles said: 'Labour is obsessed with focus groups and the dark arts of spin. Local democracy is being driven into the ground, replaced with meaningless citizens' juries and opinion polls.'

'Throwing millions at such pollsters will do nothing to address the growing sense of political disillusionment amongst the public. Not only is this an astonishing waste of taxpayers' money, but I believe it is unhealthy for the Government to pay so much to a single supplier.

'I have grave concerns about such a close involvement of paid pollsters in the development of Government policy.'

Shadow Leader of the Commons Theresa May added: 'The subject and cost of some of these surveys show that the government is on a different planet.'

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: 'First class policy-making means finding ways to ensure the voices and demands of ordinary people are heard and acted upon by Government, maximising opportunities for people to have an impact on decisions that affect their lives.'