§ 68. Mr. Jannerasked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the fact that the number of vehicles on the roads of Great Britain is now greater than in the prewar period, he will reconsider the recent decision to insist upon a drastic reduction in road maintenance expenditure; and whether any estimate has been made of the long-term consequences of interfering with the original programme of road repairs and maintenance in this country.
§ Mr. BarnesThe grants to be made available for highway maintenance and improvement must be kept within the limits imposed by the grant in aid of the Road Fund. Some curtailment of expenditure which might otherwise have been incurred this year on these purposes is inevitable, but the provision made will be sufficient to enable essential work to be undertaken. In selecting the maintenance works to be carried out on trunk roads every effort will be made to avoid excluding those, postponement of which would be likely to have any serious effect8W upon the long-term position. I am confident that the highway authorities will act similarly in respect of other roads.
§ 70. Mr. Errollasked the Minister of Transport what cuts have been imposed on the estimates for road maintenance in Cheshire during the current financial year; and whether, in view of the increased repairs which are necessary owing to the adverse winter conditions and the increase of traffic on the roads, he will reconsider his request for such a reduction.
§ Mr. BarnesI would refer the hon. Member to the statement which I have made below in answer to other questions today. I regret that I can hold out no hope of increasing the grants available for road maintenance.
§ 72. Mr. Dodds-Parkerasked the Minister of Transport on which of the by-pass schemes work is to be stopped or retarded as the result of the recent steps taken by his Department to effect reduction in expenditure on road maintenance and improvement.
§ Mr. BarnesThe only by-pass scheme already authorised on which I have found it necessary to stop work is one on the Carlisle—Sunderland trunk road at Halt-whistle. For the rest, timing must depend on the money available.
§ 74. Mr. Dodds-Parkerasked the Minister of Transport if he will give figures indicating the estimated expenditure by each of the highway authorities in Great Britain for the current financial year so far as road maintenance is concerned; and what reduction is to be made in this expenditure as a result of instructions issued by his Department.
§ 81. Sir J. Mellorasked the Minister of Transport which local highway authorities have been informed that grants will not be available towards the full amount of their estimates for the maintenance of classified roads in 1947–48; and upon what basis grants will be made to these authorities.
§ Mr. BarnesGrants towards road maintenance expenditure are made only to county councils in respect of classified roads. The following table shows, for councils which have submitted maintenance estimates for 1947–48, the amount of the estimates and the amount towards which Road Fund grants will be available.
9W
County Council. Class I and II Roads Class III Roads. Estimate submitted by County Council. Amount towards which grants will be available. Estimate submitted by County Council. Amount towards which grants will be available. £ £ £ £ Derbyshire … … 363,630 315,418 208,442 97,100 Lincolnshire (Parts of Holland) 78,262 60,309 66,190 40,130 Lincolnshire (Parts of Kesteven) 116,057 83,299 127,521 53,500 Lincolnshire (Parts of Lindsey) 197,271 170,000 148,426 83,800 Leicestershire … … 189,035 164,448 159,858 87,228 Northamptonshire … … 196,197 164,092 199,431 98,076 Nottinghamshire … … 221,411 202,400 121,906 55,500 Rutland … … 32,335 27,484 28,735 17,278 Northumberland … … 341,257 242,000 228,584 80,000 Durham … … 443,663 368,500 214,749 100,000 Yorkshire, North Riding … 276,600 186,500 334,000 120,000 Yorkshire, East Riding … … 187,000 133,000 128,000 60,000 Yorkshire, West Riding … … 942,234 766,000 489,053 200,000 Cheshire … … 366,434 302,846 228,957 87,892 Cumberland … … 91,642 78,935 158,101 61,658 Lancashire … … 1,066,687 679,657 367,844 143,456 Westmorland … … 52,508 44,271 69,293 27,000 Warwickshire … … 336,297 190,300 241,170 48,700 Worcestershire … … 287,174 246,530 136,366 48,400 Staffordshire … … 414,557 314,900 209,710 42,000 Shropshire … … 229,913 125,640 206,023 66,400 Herefordshire … … 128,194 87,630 113,329 24,500 Brecknockshire … … 40,000 38,800 70,000 34,520 Cardiganshire … … 73,140 70,640 67,600 33,320 Carmarthenshire … … 160,197 155,897 143,789 71,413 Glamorganshire … … 326,646 310,679 183,746 91,394 Monmouthshire … … 154,187 149,987 61,329 30,186 Pembrokeshire … … 74,471 72,621 77,724 38,383 Radnorshire … … 46,325 44,825 34,526 16,784 Anglesey … … 29,583 26,136 19,504 5,002 Caernarvonshire … … 117,735 93,854 56,172 25,600 Denbighshire … … 108,163 95,862 98,907 34,906 Flintshire … … 84,846 83,246 51,249 20,367 Merionethshire … … 47,853 44,337 34,907 9,065 Montgomeryshire … … 54,000 51,870 94,000 39,060 Cornwall … … 332,556 269,000 322,229 145,424 Devonshire … … 403,120 268,940 349,400 169,620 Dorsetshire … … 303,323 175,338 221,470 74,122 Gloucestershire … … 333,515 215,142 251,705 110,076 Somersetshire … … 388,068 250,228 262,163 139,670 Wiltshire … … 312,791 191,954 268,668 81,182 Berkshire … … 219,208 170,000 125,850 92,000 Hampshire … … 523,129 412,667 351,933 208,000 Isle of Wight … … 85,840 66,000 38,232 22,000 East Sussex … … 247,741 214,000 239,711 152,000 West Sussex … … 264,015 198,667 112,196 64,000 Kent … … 580,461 449,623 236,560 84,000