§ Mr. Redmondasked the Secretary of State for the Environment to what the increase from£32 million to£43.5 million is 'attributable in the cost of local authority administration of the road programme between 1969–70 and 1970–71 as shown in Table 2.9 of the White Paper on Public Expenditure, Command Paper No. 4578.
§ Mr. Graham PageThe figure of£32 million was an early estimate of outturn for 1969–70 repeated in Cmnd. 4578, the White Paper on Public Expenditure for the purpose of consistency with other 51W figures there stated. The actual out-turn for that year was£43.2 million. The under-estimate was attributable to a variety of factors of which the most significant is thought to be a change in the practice of local authorities in the extent to which they charge central administrative costs to highways. There was in 1969–70 a fall in unallocated administrative costs of local authorities.