§ 75. Colonel Ropnerasked the Minister of Transport whether his attention has been called to the warning given in the Report of the West Riding County Council Highways Committee that substantial stretches of through routes in the 58W West Riding of Yorkshire are in danger of disintegration because of restriction on maintenance grants; and whether, in view of the fact that these routes carry heavy industrial traffic which is vital to the national interest and that the amount of Ministry of Transport grants to the West Riding authority have actually decreased since the war, he can state what steps he intends to take to improve the position so far as the West Riding is concerned.
§ Mr. BarnesI have only seen a Press reference to this report. The Road Fund provision for maintenance grants is allocated with due regard to the condition of the roads, the traffic using them and other relevant considerations, and I am satisfied that the West Riding County Council have had a proper share of the total provision available, which, I regret to say, has to be severely restricted in present circumstances.