§ EARL HOWEMy Lords, I beg to ask His Majesty's Government the question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The question was as follows:
§ To ask His Majesty's Government, whether their attention has been drawn to the progressive deterioration of road surfaces in certain of the Royal Parks, and whether it will be possible to undertake any repairs in the near future.]
§ LORD HENDERSONMy Lords, the roads in the Royal Parks are intended for the use of light vehicles only. Owing to the use of roads by heavy Service vehicles during the war, and to the shortage of labour and materials to carry out repairs, the resurfacing of a number of the roads is now overdue. Provision has been made in this year's Estimates for the Royal Parks for the re-laying of the road from The Mall to Storey's Gate, of the Marlborough Gate roadway, and of parts of Constitution Hill and the ring road in Hyde Park. The work will be carried out later this year, and a start, it is hoped, will be made at the end of the present month. This represents only the most urgent part of the work; there is considerably more to be done. The process of catching up with arrears will proceed as quickly as supplies of labour and materials permit.
§ EARL HOWEMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord very much for his answer. I fully appreciate the difficulties to which he has referred. I hope it will be possible for the noble Lord to bear in mind that the deterioration in the road surfaces is progressing, and the state of many vehicles, both public and private, which have to 632 use these roads is not what it was before the war. There is a great shortage of spare parts, and anything that gets broken is very difficult to replace. I am sure the noble Lord knows these things better than I do, and I hope they will not be allowed to be overlooked.
§ LORD HENDERSONI think the noble Earl may take it that the points he has mentioned will be borne in mind.