ROAD TRANSPORT MATTERS IN PARLIAMENT.
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The Road Powers of District Councils. The Government and Coal Research. Motor Vehicle Imports into Great Britain.
By Our Special Parliamentary Correspondent.
WHEN the Local. Government Bill was in Committee on the eve of the adjournment for the Christmas recess, an effort was made to persuade the Government to leave in the hands of the district councils their existing powers in respect of classified, as well as unclassified, roads. It is proposed by the Bill to leave only unclassified roads under the control of the district councils in areas under 20,000 population.
Mr. Looker moved an amendment omitting this limitation. Sir Herbert Nielci argued that it was more essential than ever that roads should be so far as possible under a central management. He quoted Sir Henry Maybury's opinion in favour of all classified roads being taken over as main roads by the county councils. He thought that special provision should be made in respect of the metropolitan county of Middlesex. where there were 36 urban district councils and only eight or nine very small districts. If the Bill were passed in its present form only a very small margin on the western side of the county would be left to the county council and agreements which had been made with those bodies would be destroyed.
Only nine of the 36 urban district councils at present _claimed and had the power of maintaining all kinds of roads in their districts. It was not in the interests of road traffic that the service of roads should be otherwise than perfect and uniform. The Great West Road, for example, passed through the districts of six different urban authorities. The new Docks Road would run through the areas of 13 urban district authorities. One authority should rule such roads.
Test of Efficiency.
In the course of the discussion, members criticised the 20,000 population limit, but Colonel Ashley pointed out that the Royal Commission took that figure as the dividing line between the major and minor authorities. He asked the committee to consider what was best for the benefit of the country. It was obvious that within limits the more they centralized administration and finance and the more they decentralized and devolved the actual work of the local bodies, subject to the control and financial direction of the major body, the better.
Mr. Somerville maintained that the work done on their highways and main streets by the urban districts and non-county boroughs was efficiently done, and he protested against the withdrawal of powers from the smaller bodies. He suggested that an amendment should be accepted, leaving the county councils in" the position of supervisors of the roads in the counties and, if a small authority was doing its work inefficiently, the county council would have power to interfere and apply to the Minister of Transport for an Order vesting its functions with the county council.
Several members urged that efficiency and not population numbers should be the test as to whether the district councils should retain their road powers. Lieut.-Commander Burney thought that, whilst the Government wished to concentrate the control and development of the roads in as few hands as possible, the effect of the clause was to allow urban district councils to' claim for a main or a classified road and have it vested in themselves, thus depriving the county councils and the Minister of Trans
c24 port port of a considerable amount of the control now exercised. If an urban district council obtained the control it could prevent the widening not only of the main roads but of arterial roads as well.
Power of Delegation.
Mr. Neville Chamberlain said it seemed clear that where there was a road carrying through traffic they did not want to have it in the hands of a great number of local authorities. The point was whether the small authorities should be deprived of the right to be a highway authority. It was not deprived of the right to do the work. The power of delegation remained and, if the authority were really efficient, the county council would delegate the work to it. There were urban districts which were far WI) small to be able to carry out the duties and they had to draw the line somewhere and 20,000 was recommended by the Royal Commission.
After further discussion, Mr. Looker's amendment was rejected by 225 to 128 votes.
Arterial Roads Expected.
An appeal was made by several members to deal with the special circumstances of Middlesex and the Home Counties. Mr. B. Smith mentioned that the London Traffic Advisory Committee had had the greatest difficulty with borough councils in the creation of different routes. If the power were put in the hands of the larger authority, work which had been held up for years could be proceeded with, thus giting greater fluidity. to London's traffic.
Colonel Ashley afterwards accepted an amendment by Lieut.-Colonel Fremantle to except from the powers of the urban district councils the arterial roads constructed with advances from the Government to the county councils. The amendment was agreed to.
Another amendtnerit was agreed to excluding from the jurisdiction of the urban district councils those bridges which are being maintained by the county.
The Government and Coal Research.
rrum suggestion was made by Major Owen that JL a small temporary Commission should be appointed to arrange for the co-ordination of research into the most scientific utilization of coal.
The Secretary for Mines, Commodore King, said the Fuel Research Board of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was already conducting research into fuel economy questions and giving technical advice to other investigators of these problems wherever possible. Any attempt at closer co-ordination of private research would, in his opinion, do more harm than good.
*Imports of Motor Vehicles.
TEM Board of Trade supplies a table, showing the total number of motor vehicles -(touring cars, commercial vehicles and complete chassis therefor) registered as imported into Great Britain and Northern Ireland during the three months September to November, 1928, distinguishing the principal countries from which these imports were consigned (these countries are not necessarily the countries where the vehicles were constructed). The numbers were as follow ;--Trance, 688; Italy, 408; United States of America, 4,942; Canada, 2,208; other countries, 177. Total, 8,423.