§ Mr. LOVERSEEDasked the Mnister of Transport whether he will sanction the whole of the money collected by the West Suffolk County Council licensing authority from the taxation of motor vehicles being applied for the repair and maintenance of the main roads in West Suffolk; whether he is aware that the overwhelming motor traffic on the roads in the county is through traffic from London and the surrounding counties; and whether, seeing that West Suffolk is a poor agricultural county, he will give consideration to the question of making main roads a national charge and so release the ratepayers of an unfair burden?
§ Mr. GOSLINGThe Road Fund is essentially a national fund, and any attempt to administer it on a territorial basis would defeat the purpose of the Fund and would cause grave injustice. I am aware of the amount of through traffic on many roads in rural areas, and special assistance, in which districts in West 1365W Suffolk have shared, has been given from the Road Fund towards the cost of improvement of important rural roads The suggestion contained in the last part of the question raises far-reaching issues of policy, affecting the relations between national and local finance, which cannot very well be dealt with in answer to a question.