Local roads get boost
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• Capital spending by local authorities on roads is to rise by more than 6%, says Transport Secretary Paul Charmon.
Local authorities will be allowed to spend 2382 million on capital road projects, of which 50% will be paid by the government through transport supplementary grants.
The 2191 million will be spread among 108 English highway authorities. It will be used for 260 schemes which are already under construction or due to start in the current financial year, while a further 67 major schemes will also qualify for grants.
Nonetheless, there are fears among Channon's supporters that the road building budget is nothing like high enough.
Peter Fry, the senior Conservative on the Transport Select Committee which was set up this week, said that over the next three years the road building programme will be cut in real terms.
In a Commons debate on transport, Fry complained about the cut at a time when congestion is increasing and will go on increasing as the economy continues to grow: "I do not understand how you can be expected to reduce the backlog of maintenance, to renovate the many roads and bridges that are under repair. having been neglected by previous governments, and to start work on all the new major projects in your programme on a slightly lower budget," he said.
What is worse, said Fry, is that there is likely to be a 25% underspend on the money earmarked for spending by local authorities for their capital roads programmes.