§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the estimated expenditure on highway schemes in each of the years covered by the public expenditure White Paper, Cmnd 6393, on contracts already let and to be let up to the end of the financial year 1975–76, and what is the estimated additional expenditure to be incurred in each of those years on contracts to be let during the financial year 1976–77, expressed in 1975 survey terms.
§ Baroness BIRKFollowing is the information:
England and Wales
Trunk Roads and Motorways
These figures exclude expenditure on land which occurs at intervals in the planning and construction of a road scheme as well as the administrative costs.
£m. at 1975 Survey prices Expenditure from 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 Starts before 31st March 1976… 230 80 10 5 Estimated starts in 1976–77… 70 120 70 20 Local Authority Roads
Expenditure on local roads is a matter for the local authorities to decide within their available resources, including the Transport Supplementary Grant. In- 530WA formation in their transport policies and programmes suggests expenditure on road construction and improvement, excluding land, from all contracts which will have been let by 31st March 1976 to be of the order of:
Information on expenditure expected to arise from contracts to be let during 1976/77 is not yet available.
£m. at 1975 Survey prices 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 150 70 30 20 Scotland
Trunk Roads and Motorways
The estimated expenditure on contracts let before 31st March 1976 is likely to be about £30 million in 1976/77, and £10 million in later years. As the programme is under review it is not yet certain what contracts will be let in 1976/77. It is not, therefore possible to forecast how much will be spent on such contracts in individual years.
Local Authority Roads
The amount which local authorities spend on roads from their overall capital allocation, which includes an element for roads and local transport, is a matter primarily for them.