HC Deb 11 May 1950 vol 475 cc79-80W
Mr. Enroll

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in view of the fact that the sum of £20 million spent on day-to-day repair and maintenance of the permanent way of railways in this country has been excluded for the first time from the figures of capital investment in the railways in the Economic Survey for 1950, what was the approximate comparable amount relating to the day-to-day repair and maintenance of roads which is still included in the Economic Survey for 1950 as part of the capital investment in roads.

Sir S. Cripps

None. In the case of both the railways and the roads the figures of capital investment given in the Economic Survey for 1950 exclude repair and maintenance work which is of a day-today and minor character, but include all major repair and maintenance work. Broadly, this distinction is one between work which is done as part of periodical inspections and work which is of sufficient size to require a special operation. In the case of roads, an amount of approximately £10 million was excluded from the total shown for capital investment in the Surveys of both 1949 and 1950. In the case of railways, an amount of approximately £20 million in respect of day-today maintenance and repair of the permanent way was included in the Survey for 1949 but excluded in 1950.

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