Mr. Gresham Cookeasked the Secretary of State for Scotland, in view of the fact that capital authorisations for new road schemes in Scotland for the four years ending 1961–62 amount to only £40 million according to the Government's announcement in July, 1957, and that, in the light of the latest Civil Estimates, some £36,500,000 of this sum will have been authorised by 1961, leaving only some £3,500,000 for the fourth and final year of the present programme, how soon he will be able to make an announcement with regard to the scope of the road construction programme for the next few years.
§ Mr. MaclayBy the end of this financial year I shall have authorised £33.69 million out of the £40 million programme, to which £1.25 million has been added to cover the increased expenditure on Highland roads announced in the White Paper (Cmnd. 785). The balance remaining to be authorised in 1961–62 is, therefore, £7.55 million. Thereafter, the programme is being planned on the basis of annual authorisations of about £8 million.