asked the Minister of Works why licences for work on the maintenance, repair and re-surfacing of estate roads and paths are now to be included in the allocation allowed for building licences.

There is no separate provision made in the investment programme for estate roads and paths and they are therefore included in the miscellaneous category, for which a general allocation is made. Within that allocation, the local authorities and my licensing officers license as much as they can of the more important work.

Is not the Minister aware that this is a new departure and that much essential maintenance work is being held up, and thereby firms specialising in that type of work are seriously hit?

I can assure the hon. Member that I am as anxious as anyone about maintenance work, but it has to be put somewhere and it is put into the miscellaneous field of capital investment.

It is cutting certain firms out altogether.

Even if these roads have a direct benefit to a particular farm, do they still go into this miscellaneous category?

I could not answer that question without notice.