HC Deb 25 June 1924 vol 175 cc433-4
71. Mr. SCRYMGEOUR

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the formal intimation now communicated by Sir Henry Maybury to the Dundee Town Council, confirmatory of the Minister's own explicit announcement in correspondence with the senior Member for Dundee regarding the proposed Tay Road Bridge scheme, and the town council's previous refusal to act on the lines of sharing cost, the Government will lose no further time in deciding to proceed with the preliminary operations, fully intent, if satisfied therewith, on carrying through the scheme as a Government undertaking?

Mr. GOSLING

No time will be lost in proceeding with the preliminary survey. Until I have received an authoritative report on the feasibility of the scheme and on the probable cost if the scheme is, in fact, feasible, I am obviously not in a position to make any statement as to the construction of the bridge or the allocation of the cost.

Mr. SCRYMGEOUR

Why should there be any variation in the announcements of policy in this matter, and why should it now appear that about £10,000 is being sunk in the pay on the chance of local authorities supporting this scheme when in reality they have definitely decided not to support it?

Mr. GOSLING

The money is going to be used for the purpose of making investigations, and it is impossible to decide what you will do until you know the result of the investigations.

Mr. SCRYMGEOUR

Is the decision not now to carry through the Parliamentary arrangements and that in the event of the investigations proving unsatisfactory no debit is to be placed against the local authorities, but if satisfactory they are to be called upon to support a scheme regarding the whole undertaking with the conditions which you have now laid down, which they refuse to accept.

Mr. GOSLING

The arrangement is that we find the money to make the investigations. If it turns out that the scheme is one which can be gone on with the money we have used becomes part of the cost of the whole thing.

Mr. SCRYMGEOUR

And as stated in the letters the hon. Gentleman sent me, the whole cost will then be shared by the local authorities.