§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much was spent in the last 10 years and how much is now standing in arrears for the maintenance of inland waterways.
§ Mr. Denis HowellThe cost to the British Waterways Board of maintaining its waterways in the last 10 years is approximately £60 million.
I have no firm assessment of current outstanding arrears of maintenance but the recently published Fraenkel Report estimated that in 1974 arrears of maintenance which would need to be dealt with over the following 15 years were at a level which at current prices would be about £60 million. Since 1974, apart from 302W such work on arrears as the BWB has been able to do out of its normal budget, the Government have provided an extra £1 .3 million in 1977–78 and are providing further sums of £5 million in 1978–79 and £5 million in 1979–80 for urgent arrears of maintenance in the interests of public safety.