§ Sir B. Jannerasked the Minister of Transport, following the additional road maintenance expenditure which has been incurred by highway authorities as a result of the severe winter, if he will undertake to make advance payments of supplementary grants in the current financial year in order to avoid the need for highway authorities to curtail expenditure on other roadwork.
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§ Mr. MarplesNo, this would not be practicable. But in any case there is no reason why other road work should be curtailed on that account. The first thing is to find out what abnormal expenditure there has been, and I have asked county councils to let me have their estimates.
§ Mr. F. Harrisasked the Minister of Transport if he will now state the policy of Her Majesty's Government regarding authorisation of extra expenditure for repair of roads damaged in the recent severe winter.
§ Mr. MarplesI refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave yesterday to the hon. Member for Leicester, North-West (Sir B. Janner). The first thing is to know what abnormal expenditure there has38W been so far, and I have asked county councils to let me have their estimates. But to get a proper appreciation of what needs to be done to repair frost damage and of the cost is bound to take longer.