§ 43. Mr. Grimondasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give some special assistance to counties, such as Shetland, to enable them to put a proper foundation and tarmac surface on essential untarred roads.
§ Mr. J. StuartAs the hon. Member is aware, I can make grants for the improvement of unclassified roads in the crofting counties, and I am always ready to consider any particular schemes of this nature which the county councils concerned may put forward.
§ Mr. GrimondAs the Minister will know from his recent experience, many of these roads require to be practically re-made. Will he look very carefully into the question of what assistance can be given, because county councils with a very small rateable value are incapable of putting a great mileage of roads in order, to serve the districts as they ought to be served?
§ Mr. StuartI assure the hon. Gentleman that we consider schemes very carefully. I realise that there are many roads which require attention and I assure him that we will do our best to assist. I was dealing in my answer with unclassified roads, to which I thought he referred.
§ Mr. J. MacLeodCan the Minister see that in any census, the weight of traffic on these roads is taken into account and not always the number of vehicles that pass over them? This makes a considerable difference.
§ Mr. StuartIt certainly does make a great difference in the speed with which the road breaks down.