§ 29. Mr. Montgomeryasked the Minister of Transport what plans he has of the extension of the London-Yorkshire motorway to Tyneside and further north.
§ Mr. HayIt is not proposed to extend the London-Yorkshire motorway beyond the Doncaster Bypass. North of this, traffic will be catered for by improvements on the existing A.1 trunk road and by a motorway bypass of Darlington and Durham.
§ Mr. MontgomeryWhile thanking my hon. Friend for that reply, may I ask him to realise that there are parts of England north of Yorkshire? Will he also bear in mind that the unemployment figures in the North-East are still too high, and that developed communications there would be of great help to the President of the Board of Trade in steering new industries into the area? Will my hon. Friend bear this in mind?
§ Mr. HayIf I were not aware that there were parts of the United Kingdom north of Yorkshire, many hon. Members would speedily remind me. We are well aware of this, and that is why our intention is to improve the A.1 trunk road to give continuous, dual, two-lane carriageways right through from London to Newcastle.