§ Mr. Fitchasked the Secretary of State for Transport for what pm-poses £98,000 is being spent on the Channel tunnel in 1981–82; and whether this expenditure is consistent with his statement of 19 March 1980 that public funds will not be devoted to the project.
§ Mr. FowlerThe estimated expenditure for 1981–82 is entirely consistent with my statement of 19 March 1980. It covers the maintenance of property—including the trial bore—for which I have inherited responsibility following the abandonment in 1975 of the previous Channel tunnel project; and a contingency provision for the purchase of further property should proof of blight make this necessary.