§ 2.42 p.m.
§ LORD ALLERTONMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government the amount of Government expenditure on road building in England and Wales in the last five years, and what it will be in the next five years.]
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, expenditure by Her Majesty's Government on new construction and major imrovements on motorways, trunk roads and classified roads in England and Wales in the five years 1959–60–1963–64 538 was £382 million; the present road programme provides for expenditure of about £800 million in the five years 1964–65–1968–69.
§ LORD ALLERTONMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for his very satisfactory Answer. May I ask him how much of this expenditure will be used on the construction of motorways?
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, for the last five years it was £158 million; for the next five years, £320 million.
§ LORD PEDDIEMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord how much of this expenditure represents entirely new roads constructed during the past five years?
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, to start with, all the motorways, of course. Otherwise, it is a little difficult to break down the expenditure between entirely new and major improvement, creating a road equivalent to new. The noble Lord will understand that this is a difficult figure to break down, and that is why the two are included together.
§ LORD PEDDIEMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord to indicate to the House the mileage of the entirely new roads that have been constructed in the last five years?
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, that is one figure, which, without notice, I could not give with accuracy. I do not know whether it will help the noble Lord if I state the mileage of motorways, which may be an indication. The present construction is 292½ miles to date; 148½ miles are now under construction, and a further 568½ miles are programmed in the future period.
THE EARL OF GOSFORDMy Lords, may I ask my noble friend whether he would bring to the attention of his right honourable friend the fact that cars are coming on to the road daily at a rate far greater than that at which roads are being built to accommodate them; that motorists, road transport as well as private motorists, are paying annually to the Treasury more than four times the amount of money that is being spent on roads, and that, if this situation continues it will end in road chaos?
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, I think I can assure my noble friend, without replying to his full bag of chestnuts, that 539 my right honourable friend is quite aware of the speed at which cars are coming on to the road. That is one of the reasons why expenditure on roads will be increased from 4 per cent. of the national investment programme in the last four years to a future 8 per cent.
§ LORD LUCAS OF CHILWORTHMy Lords, would the noble Lord be good enough to inform the House why, in the £800 million projected expenditure in the next five years on motorways, trunk roads, and conversion of roads into what approximates to new roads, there is no figure representing the maintenance of existing roads?
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, it is because I was asked for the figure of the road construction programme, and not maintenance.
§ EARL ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord if he could tell us whether the £800 million expenditure projected in the next five years is entirely Government expenditure, or how much is contributed by local authorities?
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, the £800 million does not include any figure for local authority contribution. The Question asked about Government expenditure, and that is what it is.