§ Mr. Lambornasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report a table giving a comparison between the cash budget and the actual cash spent for (a) motorway and trunk road construction and (b) motorway and trunk road maintenance, for each year since 1976–77, with his latest projection for 1981–82, showing in each case the percentage under or over-spend.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe information is as follows:
47W
Year New Construction and Improvement—£m. Maintenance £m. Estimated Actual per cent. Estimated Actual per cent. 1979–80 346 343 (–1) 97 105 (+8) 1980–81 420 407 (–3) 114 115 (+1) 1981–82 (Estimated) 518 2466 (–10) 160 2163 (+2) Notes
- 1 Includes 100 per cent. Grant schemes.
- 2 These estimates do not take into account the effect of the severe weather this winter, the financial implications of which cannot yet be properly assessed.
- 3 The provisions for new construction and improvement and for maintenance were covered by a single cash limit; the breakdown shown reflects that derived from the estimates. On the total the spending each year lay between +1 per cent. and —3 per cent. of the cash limit to 1980–81.
§ Mr. Lambornasked the Secretary of State for Transport in which years since 1960 the trunk road construction budget has been fully spent.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe provision made in Estimates for new trunk road construction and improvement, including any Supplementary Estimates, has been fully expended on three occasions since 1960.
§ Mr. Lambornasked the Secretary of State for Transport how much of the motorway and trunk road construction budget for 1981–82 is accounted for by (a) schemes started before the beginning of the financial year, (b) schemes started during the financial year, (c) preparation work on other schemes, (d) land acquisition and (e) other costs; and by how much actual payments are likely to vary from budgeted payments.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe sums provided under the subhead for new construction and improvement on trunk roads and motorways in England in the estimates for 1981–82 were allocated between the items listed as follows:
Per cent a. schemes started before the beginning of the financial year 51 b. schemes started during the financial year 25 c. preparation work on other schemes 12 d. land acquisition 9 e. other costs 3 The outturn for the year as a whole is at present still uncertain, particularly in view of the recent severe weather. Earlier indications suggested that expenditure for the cash block of which trunk road construction forms part may be rather over 5 per cent. below the provision.