§ The provisions of section one hundred and seventeen of the Local Government Act, 1929 (which provides for the transfer to a county council of property and liabilities relating to roads vested in the county council on or before the appointed day therein referred to) shall with any necessary modifications apply to roads in a borough or urban district which since that appointed day have become or which shall hereafter become county roads and as regards roads which since that day and before the passing of this Act became county roads shall be deemed to have applied thereto as from the day upon which they became county roads:
§ Provided that as regards roads which become county roads after the said appointed day and before the passing of this Act paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (1) of the said section one hundred and seventeen shall apply only to land unexpended balances and sinking funds which have been retained by the council of the county district in which those roads are situate.—[Mr. T. Lewis.]
§ Brought up, and read the First time.
§ Mr. T. LewisI beg to move, "That the Clause he read a Second time."
I do not know whether I shall be quite as successful with this new Clause. This is a rather more complicated point and deals with a transfer of road property and I anticipate that there may, perhaps, be difficulties between the county authorities and the county boroughs The Local Government Act, 1929, transferred to county councils, as from 1st April, 1930, all roads in rural districts and the classified roads in urban districts and non-county boroughs. Section 117 of that Act 1283 provided that certain property and liabilities of county district councils, relating to such roads, were to be transferred to the county councils as from that date.
Since 1930, a number of further roads have become classified roads, and have passed from the county districts to the councils, but the county councils are unable to accept responsibility for liabilities which the non-county boroughs have incurred in respect of those roads, because Section 117 does not provide for the transfer of property and liabilities in respect of roads which, subsequent to April, 1930, became classified roads, nor is there any such provision elsewhere. The object of this new Clause, therefore, is to provide that the county council should accept the transfer of property and liabilities in connection with roads which have become classified roads since 1st April, 1930. I expect that the county councils may have an entirely different view about this, but I think that, in the public interest, it should be done.
§ Mr. BevanI am afraid I cannot accept this new Clause, because it would put a requirement upon county councils which they would be quite entitled to reject. After all, a county district may have involved itself in expenditure on its own account, and then might require the county council to take over the scheme, and that would be quite unreasonable. It can be negotiated, and a transfer made by agreement, but it certainly would he inappropriate for a county district to decide on its own scheme, and, after having involved itself in very considerable expense, at a certain moment, require the county council to take it over. Where, however, it can be shown that a county district has got itself into financial difficulties, owing to excessive burdens consequent on circumstances beyond its control, another portion of the Act enables the county council to make a contribution to its relief.
§ Mr. T. LewisIn view of the Minister's statement, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the Motion.
§ Motion and Clause, by leave, withdrawn.