§ 61. Mr. Ernest Daviesasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the estimated authorisations and expenditure, respectively, under the roads programme in each of the years 1958–59 to 1961–62.
§ 73. Mr. Pargiterasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, having regard to his estimate that the cost of the road improvement works which he proposes to put in hand for the four years, 1958–59 to 1961–62, will ultimately cost the Exchequer about £240 million, that in 1958–59 authorisations will total substantially more than £65 million, what will be the average amount of authorisations for each of the three following years; and to what extent he anticipates that in any of those years they will exceed or fall below the 1958–59 level.
§ Mr. WatkinsonIn the four years 1958–59 to 1961–62 I propose to authorise road improvements in England and Wales which will cost the Exchequer about £240 million, compared with the current four years' programme in which authorisations total about £138 million for England and Wales. This programme will be advanced as quickly as possible. In the interests of flexibility in planning, I do not propose to announce detailed lists of schemes some years in advance. My policy will be rather to press forward actual construction works with all possible speed.
§ Mr. Ernest Daviesasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of 188W projected works under the next four years roads programme not included in the list published in the OFFICIAL REPORT of 22nd February, 1955.
§ Mr. WatkinsonExperience has shown the desirability of keeping the programme as flexible as possible, and therefore, as I informed the House on 22nd July, apart from the major priorities which I have announced, I do not propose to issue lists of specific schemes long in advance of the time when work on them can start.