§ Mr. Hefferasked the Secretary of State for Transport what financial aid for roads has been given to the Liverpool area over the past 10 years.
§ Mr. HoramGovernment support for local authority expenditure is given by the rate support grant and it is not possible to say how far that is used to assist particular services. In addition, specific grants amounting to £9.73 million at out-422W turn prices have been paid for highway improvements in the Liverpool area since June 1967, the earliest date for which records are readily available. In April 1975 specific grants were replaced by the transport supplementary grant, which is paid to the Merseyside Metropolitan County Council. It is not possible to identify how much of this grant was devoted to roads in Liverpool. The Secretary of State has also made advances by loans totalling £29.66 million in the period from July 1967 to the present date in respect of the construction of the new Mersey Tunnel.