§ 80. Sir T. Mooreasked the Minister of Transport whether in view of the fact that he has taken steps to arrange for a certain amount of repair work on limited 13W areas of London streets to be undertaken during the week-ends, he will now make similar arrangements for more extensive work of this character to be undertaken at such periods, with a view to avoiding interference with weekday traffic as much as possible.
§ Mr. BarnesIt is desirable that street works should be carried out with as little delay as possible, especially when they cause serious inconvenience to traffic. But week-end working can be very expensive, and I have no powers to insist that local authorities carry out works during week-ends, nor can I assist local authorities in London by a grant towards the extra cost of week-end work.
§ Mr. Blackburnasked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the concern felt by the Roads Committee of the Warwickshire County Council over the Government restrictions on necessary maintenance and improvement work on roads; and whether he will consider the allocation of more money to reduce the arrears of the past 12 years.
§ Mr. BarnesYes. I have recently allocated more money to Warwickshire out of additional funds which have been made available for the maintenance and minor improvement of trunk and classified roads.