Cut in road spending
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ROAD SPENDING faces a slight cut in real terms in 1985/86.
Transport Secretary Nicholas Ridley said that spending on national roads would rise to £834m, compared with an estimated out-turn in the current year of £806m. This represents a cut of about £12m after inflation is taken into account.
But Mr Ridley said that spending on national roads would have increased by 17 per cent since 1983/84.
Local authority current spending on transport is supposedly unchanged in real terms on the present year. But as councils have spent far more on subsidies than the Government had budgeted for, many faced the need to cut spending sharply.
A FIXED Channel crossing has taken a step nearer reality following a successful meeting between Transport Secretary Nicholas Ridley and his French counterpart Paul Cluilez in Paris last week.
The two ministers agreed on the willingness of the French and British Governments to take the necessary step to allow the building of a fixed link.
They promised to provide the essential political guarantee against cancellation by Government, although they insisted that there would be no state financial guarantees or support.