§ Mr. Cordleasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the cost of the road building programme in the administrative county of Dorset for the years 1973–74 and 1974–75; and what is the expected figure for the present year.
§ Dr. GilbertIn 1973–74 the following sums were spent on new road construction and improvements:
Trunk roads £88,000 Principal roads £2,111,000 Other roads £321,000 Comparable figures for 1974–75 are not yet available, some delay being caused by local government reorganisation, but the
EXPENDITURE ON ROADS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
£m. Financial years 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 New construction and improvement: all roads 201 204 227 327 356 of which trunk roads 109 112 127 145 161 Maintenance: all roads 141 149 167 146 138 of which trunk roads 20 21 24 19 21
£m. Financial years 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 New construction and improvement: all roads 415 517 516 551 653 of which trunk roads 219 276 247 250 303 Maintenance: all roads 149 173 199 238 288 of which trunk roads 21 25 31 49 61 Information is not available on interest charges separately. Sources:
Local authority and central Government annual returns of revenue and capital expenditure.