HC Deb 18 March 1941 vol 370 cc4-5
14. Sir Waldron Smithers

asked the Secretary of State for War what action is being taken to apportion the blame and to penalise those at fault for the construction of part of a road at a certain military camp which has sunk owing to faulty construction, necessitating the work being done twice over?

Mr. Law

I understand that my hon. Friend refers to a case where a short length of the new part of a road which was being widened subsided and had to be remade. The subsidence was caused by the fact that the widening had to be done over a sewer, the trench of which was filled in when the road was originally made a year ago. The extra expense amounted to £20. The extent to which any blame can rightly be apportioned to any individual is being examined.

Sir W. Smithers

Is the hon. Member not aware that this was gross carelessness, and is he quite sure—I will take his word for it—that the damage amounted to only £20?

Mr. Law

Yes, Sir, my information is that it did amount to only £20. I do not think that it can be described as a case of gross carelessness. It so happened that the amount of motor traffic was greater than had been anticipated, and in consequence the road had to be widened after it had been made.

Sir W. Smithers

But surely the engineers knew the sewer was there before they started?