§ Mr. ButterfillTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much local highway authority expenditure he intends to accept for transport supplementary grant in 1988–89; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ChannonI have decided to accept £382 million of local authority highway expenditure for transport 435W supplementary grant in 1988–89. Grant will be paid on this expenditure at a flat rate of 50 per cent. The total of £191 million TSG is more than 6 per cent, higher than for 1987–88.
A total of 67 new major — that is, costing over £1 million — schemes will be supported through TSG for the first time. Among these are the Dartford northern bypass; Lower road widening, Southwark; Park road relief road, Liverpool; a further stage of the Avon ring road; and other important improvements in both urban and rural areas.
More than 260 other major schemes will continue to receive TSG support. Many of these schemes are already under construction or are due to start in the current financial year. With TSG support to their road programmes, local authorities have reported completion of 49 schemes costing £145 million in 1986–87 and a start of works on 57 schemes costing £197 million. During 1987–88, they plan to complete a further 66 schemes costing £249 million and start 72 costing £372 million.
In deciding the distribution of transport supplementary grant for 1988–89, I have considered carefully the transport policies and programmes submitted by each local highway authority, and have looked at the extent to which authorities' programmes relate to roads of more than local importance. Many local authority roads — such as major urban roads and roads on the primary route network — carry significant amounts of longer-distance through traffic, and thus complement the trunk road network. Improvements to such roads are important locally because they save lives, reduce congestion and relieve communities from the effects of through traffic. They are also of national benefit by aiding the efficient flow of goods, people and services. TSG reflects the national taxpayers' interest in helping local authorities to improve these roads.
Many smaller schemes on these heavily trafficked roads produce very significant accident savings and other benefits. I have therefore taken into account almost £59 million of expenditure on minor (under £1 million) schemes for grant in 1988–89, an increase of 7.3 per cent, on 1987–88.
The amount of expenditure accepted for TSG and the amount of grant for each local highway authority is set out in the table below. Councils are being informed individually today of their own figures.
436W
The Distribution of Transport Supplementary Grant for 1988–89 £ million Authority Expenditure accepted for TSG Grant Avon 8.612 4.306 Bedfordshire 6.498 3.249 Berkshire 5.376 2.688 Buckinghamshire 1.414 0.707 Cambridgeshire 4.510 2.255 Cheshire 2.728 1.364 Cleveland 6.324 3.162 Cornwall 4.540 2.270 Cumbria 2.800 1.400 Derbyshire 1.366 0.683 Devon 7.002 3.501 Dorset 8.640 4.320 Durham 3.876 1.938 East Sussex 4.242 2.121 Essex 17.460 8.730 Gloucestershire 2.154 1.077 437W
Authority Expenditure accepted for TSG Grant Hampshire 8.230 4.115 Hereford and Worcester 3.952 1.976 Hertfordshire 6.190 3.095 Humberside 9.036 4.518 Isle of Wight 1.454 0.727 Kent 18.510 9.255 Lancashire 9.366 4.683 Leicestershire 9.890 4.945 Lincolnshire 2.278 1.139 Norfolk 4.300 2.150 Northamptonshire 6.470 3.235 Northumberland 1.088 0.544 North Yorkshire 3.850 1.925 Nottinghamshire 4.074 2.037 Oxfordshire 1.426 0.713 Shropshire 3.500 1.750 Somerset 6.422 3.211 Staffordshire 5.644 2.822 Suffolk 3.506 1.753 Surrey 4.472 2.236 Warwickshire 3.492 1.746 West Sussex 5.460 2.730 Wiltshire 0.722 0.361 Total Shire Counties 210.874 105.43'? Bolton 2.686 1.343 Bury 2.020 1.010 Manchester 6.290 3.145 Oldham 2.240 1.120 Rochdale 0.570 0.285 Salford 7.692 3.846 Stockport 0.360 0.180 Tameside 0.620 0.310 Trafford 1.284 0.642 Wigan 4.630 2.315 Total Greater Manchester Districts 28.392 14.196 Knowsley 0.484 0.242 Liverpool 2.470 1.235 St. Helens 1.270 0.635 Sefton 0.342 0.171 Wirral 2.460 1.230 Total Merseyside Districts 7.026 3.513 Barnsley 0.800 0.400 Doncaster 0.942 0.471 Rotherham 0.446 0.223 Sheffield 0.760 0.380 Total South Yorkshire Districts 2.948 1.474 Gateshead 3.990 1.995 Newcastle upon Tyne 4.570 2.285 North Tyneside 0.760 0.380 South Tyneside 0.720 0.360 Sunderland 3.154 1.577 Total Tyne and Wear Districts 13.194 6.597 Birmingham 7.806 3.903 Coventry 3.884 1.942 Dudley 1.384 0.692 Sandwell 1.834 0.917 Solihull 1.020 0.510 Walsall 3.156 1.578 Wolverhampton 6.922 3.461 Total West Midlands Districts 26.006 13.003 Bradford 3.372 1.686 Calderdale 0.420 0.210 Kirklees 2.638 1.319
Authority Expenditure accepted for TSG Grant Leeds 3.046 1.523 Wakefield 0.526 0.263 Total West Yorkshire Districts 10.002 5.001 Total Metropolitan Districts 87.568 43.784 City of London 0.366 0.183 Barking and Dagenham 5.672 2.836 Barnet 0.800 0.400 Bexley 1.298 0.649 Brent 0.872 0.436 Bromley 7.766 3.883 Camden 0.262 0.131 Croydon 0.468 0.234 Ealing 3.876 1.938 Enfield 22.510 11.255 Greenwich 1.632 0.816 Hackney 0.854 0.427 Hammersmith and Fulham 0.130 0.065 Haringey 7.324 3.662 Harrow 7.156 3.578 Havering 0.640 0.320 Hillingdon 3.914 1.957 Hounslow 1.516 0.758 Islington 0.144 0.072 Kensington and Chelsea 0.138 0.069 Kingston upon Thames 0.662 0.331 Lambeth 0.494 0.247 Lewisham 1.940 0.970 Merton 5.058 2.529 Newham 0.686 0.343 Redbridge 0.806 0.403 Richmond upon Thames 0.372 0.186 Southwark 1.994 0.997 Sutton 1.556 0.778 Tower Hamlets 0.136 0.068 Waltham Forest 0.988 0.494 Wandsworth 1.108 0.554 Westminster 0.420 0.210 Total London 83.558 41.779 Total England 382.000 191.000