HC Deb 29 October 1970 vol 805 c205W
Mr. Mather

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, whether the programme of trunk roads and motorways is up to schedule.

Mr. Graham Page

As explained by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the course of his statement the day before yesterday, the reductions in expenditure on roads announced in Cmnd. 4515 will not affect the main trunk road and motorway programme. Owing mainly to the fine summer this programme is, in fact, at present ahead of schedule and I expect that it will be necessary to present a Supplementary Estimate for expenditure in the current financial year. This would represent a bringing forward of expenditure rather than a net addition to the programme, and would reflect the Government's determination, while taking whatever steps are necessary to reallocate resources over a period, not to disrupt sensible programming by insisting on adherence to precise annual limits for expenditure in this field.