§ 39. Mr. Lambornasked the Secretary of State for Transport what was the proportion of total English trunk road construction spending incurred in the Greater London Council area in the 1970's; and how this compares with the Greater London Council's share of the population.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeExpenditure in the Greater London Council area on new construction and improvement of trunk roads, expressed as a percentage of total expenditure in England, was as follows.
Year Percentage 1969–70 2.6 1970–71 1.9 1971–72 3.4 1972–73 4.7 1973–74 5.5 1974–75 6.6 1975–76 5.9 1976–77 5.8 1977–78 4.1 1978–79 4.4 1979–80 6.5 14.8 per cent. of the total population of England, mid-1979 estimate, was in the GLC area.
The figures reflect the low proportion of roads in the GLC area which are trunk roads. The GLC and the boroughs are responsible for the overwhelming majority of the roads in London and receive a much higher percentage of national transport supplementary grant for its transport needs than its percentage of the total population.