§ Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Transport what average increase in tender prices in 1983–84 compared with 1982–83 has been assumed in the capital budget for the motorway and trunk road construction programme as announced in Cmnd. 8789.
§ Mrs. ChalkerNone. The cash figures in the White Paper do not embody specific assumptions about future 335W price changes. The programme will be managed so as to achieve as high output as possible for the cash provision whatever future price movements occur. The smaller the increase in costs on the programme, the higher the output will be.
§ Mr. Soleyasked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how much was spent on loan redemption for all road construction and improvement for the whole of England and Wales for the last full year for which figures are available;
(2) how much was spent on interest charges for all road construction and improvement for the whole of England and Wales for the last full year for which figures are available.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThere is no hypothecation of either interest charges or loan redemption within central Government borrowing for individual programmes or projects. Figures are not, therefore, available for the interest charge or loan redemption attributable to the motorway and trunk road programme. Local authority returns suggest that interest charges and debt redemption for local highways (including public lighting) in England and Wales for 1980–81 were £135.5 million and £49.6 million respectively.