§ 3. Mr. KnoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received about the speed with which motorway repairs are undertaken.
§ Mr. MacGregorI receive a steady flow of representations about motorway repairs, mainly concerned with individual cases.
§ Mr. KnoxDoes my right hon. Friend believe that the public are satisfied that motorway repairs are undertaken in the minimum possible time? I appreciate that there has been an improvement in recent years, but has he any proposals to improve the situation further?
§ Mr. MacGregorI hope that my hon. Friend will acknowledge that there have been substantial improvements, not least because the introduction of the lane rental scheme means that motorway repairs are completed faster here than anywhere else in the world. Our pioneering scheme has been copied around the world. I am happy to tell my hon. Friend that we shall be moving from a level of 50 per cent. of motorway repairs carried out through lane rental contracts to achieving our target next year of all schemes where lane rental is applicable being carried out in that way. We are also making fast progress in other directions.