§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which estuarial crossings have received central Government assistance in the form of grant, loan or debt write-off or suspension; and how much assistance has been given, and in what form, in each case.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe majority of estuarial crossings in Scotland have been financed directly by central government as elements of the trunk road programme, including the tolled road bridge at Erskine. The Forth road bridge, which opened in 1964, attracted a grant from central government of £4.65 million towards initial capital expenditure and a loan of £14.5 million on which interest payments of some £1.66 million were waived during construction; and additional £7.1 million of unpaid interest between 1964 and 1984 was capitalised and added to the loan. It is expected that the full outstanding debt will be repaid by May 1995. The Tay road bridge, which opened in 1966, received loans from central government totalling £3.97 million; the sum of these loans outstanding in May 1993 was £3.36 million.
§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which estuarial crossings are the responsibility of(a) central Government, (b) local authorities and (c) private owners; and which of these are (i) subject to tolls and (ii) not subject to tolls.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe majority of estuarial crossings in Scotland are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Scotland as part of the trunk road network, and are not subject to tolls. Tolls are charged on the Erskine, Forth and Tay road bridges where the responsible authorities are as follows:
- Erskine road bridge—Secretary of State for Scotland.
- Forth road bridge—Forth road bridge joint board (Fife and Lothian regional councils).
- Tay road bridge—Tay road bridge joint board (Fife and Tayside regional councils).