§ Sir John StanleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of his Department's vulnerability to claims by highway authorities for damages if his allocations of transport supplementary grant were insufficient to enable highway authorities to meet their existing contractual financial commitments in relation to highway schemes approved for transport supplementary grant; [9448]
(2) if it is his policy that the transport supplementary grant allocations to highway authorities should be sufficient to meet authorities' existing contractual financial commitments in relation to highway schemes approved for transport supplementary grant. [9449]
§ Mr. WattsWhen local highway authorities submit their annual transport policies and programme proposals, the Department looks scrupulously at the bids for support for schemes accepted for transport supplementary grant in past rounds. The aim is to determine the extent to which estimated expenditure is eligible for grant, is consistent664W with published guidance, and is in line with previous advice to the bidding authority on affordability. The Department makes it clear that TSG is not necessarily intended to cover the entire costs of an accepted scheme. There may be elements of expenditure in a contract that are not eligible for the grant. The Department is therefore under no obligation to provide sufficient resources for an authority to meet its contractual commitments. Subject to those qualifications, the Department none the less aims in making its allocations to avoid the authority having artificially to delay schemes that have already started construction. No case has been recorded in which an authority has pursued a claim against the Department because of alleged failure to provide sufficient resources.