Clause 22. — (Road Grants and Classifications.)

Part of Local Government (Scotland) Bill – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 9 November 1966.

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Photo of Mr Hector Monro Mr Hector Monro , Dumfriesshire 12:00, 9 November 1966

I support the Amendment, which is fairly worth while. Most local authorities are prudent in budgeting for snow clearance and only in exceptional conditions do they need help. But I do not think that any local authority budgets ahead for flood damage. As the Secretary of State knows, in one night in Dumfries-shire, in August, there was £144,000 worth of damage to roads and bridges.

I appreciate that there is a difficulty in helping private owners over damage to houses and property, but when it comes to roads and bridges I would like more than the sympathetic letters I have had from the right hon. Gentleman. What the local authority needs is cash and, while the right hon. Gentleman has stated that grants will be available for the repair of bridges and roads in relation to their classification, something over and above that is needed if roads are to be brought back to their original conditions and the existing maintenance programme continued for that year.

This is where the Amendment would be so valuable in that a special sum could be made available immediately to local authorities to get on with the work, for road maintenance and improvement is vital in an age when transport is one of the most important things in Scotland. I warmly support the Amendment.