§ Mr. Robert Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he is satisfied with the financial arrangements with regard to compensating local authorities for the extra costs of keeping roads open during a severe winter.
§ Mr. Tom KingThe report on road maintenance published by the Select Committee on Transport earlier this year recommended that the Department of the Environment
should take a far more generous approach to the question of compensation for the extra costs incurred during the severe winter.I am considering that recommendation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and will respond to it and the other recommendations of the Transport Committee in due course.