§ Q10. Mr. Woodburnasked the Prime Minister, in view of the fact that Her Majesty's Government construct expensive highways and fly-overs in the London area, without charging tolls on them, why the building of the Forth Road bridge should be conditional on the charging of tolls; and whether, with a view to encouraging industrial development in the Fife and Clackmannan areas, he will remove this deterrent to the free flow of traffic.
§ The Prime MinisterGovernment policy is that tolls are an appropriate method of financing expensive bridge and tunnel schemes where the creation of a new route brings great advantages to traffic. The imposition of tolls on the new bridges over the Forth, the Severn, the Tamar and the Tay, and on the Dartford and Tyne tunnels conforms to this policy. The replacement of the existing ferry by the Forth Bridge will be a great encouragement to industrial development in Fife and Clackmannan which will, I am sure, more than outweigh the effect of the tolls.