§ Mr. Edwin Wainwrightasked the Minister of Transport if she will state the percentages of national revenue invested in new roads for each of the past six years, the estimated figures for the years 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971, respectively, and the comparative figures for each of the European Economic Community countries, available to her from international sources.
§ Mr. CarmichaelThe percentages of the national revenue spent on new construction and major improvement of roads in Great Britain in 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, and 1966–67 were 1.2 per cent., 1.5 per cent., 1.8 per cent., 1.8 per cent., 1.6 per cent and 1.7 per cent. respectively. The estimated percentage for 1967–68 is 2.0 per cent. but the figure is not strictly comparable with that for previous years because it includes expenditure on minor as well as major improvements and excludes expenditure 67W on some roads previously eligible for grant assistance. Forecasts of national revenue for future years are not available. Directly comparable information is not available for other countries.
§ Mr. Gwynfor Evansasked the Minister of Transport what sums were spent on the construction and improvement of roads in England in each of the years 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967; and what sums she estimates will be spent in 1968, 1969 and 1970.
§ Mr. CarmichaelPublic expenditure on major improvements and new construction of roads in England, including expenditure on local authority roads, was:
£ Million 1964–65 151.0 1965–66 148.3 1966–67 163.7 (provisional) It is estimated that expenditure in 1967–68 will be of the order of £225 million rising to about £330 million in 1970–71. Comparable figures for the intervening years are not available.