HC Deb 21 November 1977 vol 939 cc1081-2
12. Mr. Grist

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the expenditure by central and local government on road maintenance in each of the last two years and planned in the current year, expressed at constant prices.

Mr. Barry Jones

I will circulate the figures in theOfficial Report.

Mr. Grist

Does the Minister agree that the cut-back which has occurred in road maintenance has been extremely short-sighted, that it will lead to massively increased bills in the future, that it endangers road safety and that it has led county authorities to have to spend very much more on insurance premiums?

Mr. Barry Jones

In previous speeches, the hon. Gentleman has said that he wanted cuts in public expenditure. In reality, the situation has led to less money being made available, and the hon. Gentleman is arguing against himself. Notwithstanding that, to indicate that I do not take lightly some of the complaints that he and others have made, I want to inform him of the widespread conditions survey of about 3,000–4,000 sites in Wales which will enable us to have effective monitoring of the situation.

Following are the figures:

For central Government—£7£7 million in 1975–76, £7.5 million in 1976–77 and £6.7 million in the current year.

For local Government—£35.1 million in 1975–76, £30.6 million in 1976–77 and £30.0 million in the current year.

All figures are at November 1976 prices.