§ 6. Mr. BowisTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will reconsider the guidelines for transport supplementary grant to enable more schemes costing less than £1 million to be supported.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTransport supplementary grant allows extensive support for schemes costing under £1 million. There are no plans to change the grant criteria. A guide to TSG is in the Library.
§ Mr. BowisWhile accepting that some schemes cost under £1 million, may I ask my hon. Friend to note that most schemes cost more? When schemes have sped traffic through the countryside, it tends to end up in bottlenecks in areas such as mine. Will he therefore reconsider giving more money to small schemes, where comparatively small sums for comparatively small jobs could bring joy unconfined—not to mention transports of delight—to travellers in my part of London?
§ Mr. BottomleyWe aim to give environmental relief by taking unsuitable traffic off residential roads, by giving greater chance of economic development to badly served areas and by reducing casualties. There are those who want more spent on small schemes, but a significantly greater number want more spent on large schemes. We think that we have the balance right and we have the opportunity to review it each year.