asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will amend the criteria for eligibility for transport supplementary grant so as to include small low-cost engineering schemes on local roads, with the aim of giving encouragement to local authorities to carry out cost-effective improvement schemes for accident reduction.

The criteria already provide for expenditure to be eligible for TSG for such schemes on roads of more than local importance. I regard road safety as an important consideration in deciding how much of an authority's estimated expenditure to accept.