§ 28. Sir H. BRITTAINasked the Minister of Transport if he can inform the House of the amount that has been spent on the creation of now roads during the past 12 months; what the additional mileage has been; and whether he can give any outline of the activities in this direction which his Department is desirous of completing during the forthcoming year?
§ Colonel ASHLEYThe grants from the Road Fund towards the cost of constructing new roads reached a total approximately £955,000 during 1925–26, and grants to an amount of roughly £850,000 have been made towards the same purpose since the 1st April last, apart from a grant towards the current expenditure on constructing the Mersey Tunnel. I have not called for a special return from local authorities giving the figures asked for by my hon. Friend and they would take some time to ascertain. As regards the last part of the question, my hon. Friend will appreciate that the decision regarding the initiation of additional works lies very largely within the discretion of the different local authorities throughout the Kingdom, whose policy I am unable to forecast.