Michael Gove's latest brainchild - a King James Bible for every school - could end up being funded by the taxpayer, despite David Cameron reportedly advising him to keep his hands off the public purse.
The cost of providing a copy of the bible to every school is likely to be around £375,000, the Department for Education (DfE) estimated. The release is to mark the 400th anniversary of the edition's translation and is due to be distributed around Easter, although the DfE said they had not yet been printed.
But there is still some disagreement as to just who will be stumping up the money for the bible - which will also contain the autograph of the great man himself (Gove, that is).
Gove confirmed a "low cost" deal had been struck with the publisher to provide the Bible - a move he described as a "powerful and potent" way of highlighting the historical significance of the anniversary - but there is still no-one to foot the bill.
The Press Association reported Gove saying: "The taxpayer is there to underwrite the costs but we are in conversation with a number of individuals and organisations that may share some of the burden."
But the DfE have so far refused to deny whether the taxpayer would have to pay if Gove failed to find sponsors for his project. The department confirmed Gove has already signed on the dotted line with Oxford University Press to print the books but are still finalising the full costs of printing and distribution.
As the department have still yet to locate a "philanthropic sponsor", it looks as if the taxpayer will have to come to the rescue.
If Gove's bibles do finally materialise, they will be distributed to every school, regardless of faith.
A Department for Education spokesman said in a statement: "The prime minister was clear in his speech in December about the importance of the King James Bible, and marking this important anniversary. The prime minister supports the plan to send a copy to every school. We continue to seek philanthropic sponsorship.
"We will be open and transparent about the costs when these are finalised," they added.
This is not the only trouble Gove's bibles have encountered; the same Guardian article also reported sources saying the copies were stuck in a warehouse abroad.