§ 44. Dr. CHAPPLEasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport whether he has taken any steps to give effect to the Motion carried in this House in favour of the adequate taxation of mechanically propelled vehicles on county toads and the increase of grants to road authorities?
§ Colonel ASHLEYAs already announced by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, it is proposed that special allocations from the Road Fund, amounting to about £1,250,000, shall be made during the current financial year to highway authorities in rural areas. The extent of the assistance which can be rendered by way of grants to highway authorities, towards the cost of road maintenance and improvement, is limited by the amount of revenue accruing to the Road Fund from the taxation of road vehicles. Though this revenue shows a natural tendency to expand in conformity with the increase in the number of vehicles which are licensed, no substantial addition to the revenue for grants to highway authorities can be anticipated without an increase in the present scale of taxation.
§ Lieut.-Colonel HOWARD-BURYIs the hon. and gallant Gentleman aware of the almost universal demand that the taxation of motor cars shall bear some proportion to the wear and tear which they cause to the roads?