§ 24. Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is yet able to announce a contract for construction of the noise barrier of the elevated section of M6 motorway at Great Barr, Birmingham.
§ Mr. MulleyI am about to invite tenders and hope to award the contract early in the new year.
§ Mr. RookerWill my right hon. Friend accept that I am disappointed with that answer, because in September my constituents were categorically assured that the barrier would be in position by Easter next year? If one part of the Department of the Environment can act on the Channel Tunnel, cannot another part of the Department do something to enable my constituents to get a night's sleep?
§ Mr. MulleyI do not know what decision will ultimately be taken about the Channel Tunnel, but the matter about which my hon. Friend is concerned will be attended to long before then. I pay tribute to the way in which he has pursued this issue on behalf of his constituents. He was informed by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State in September that we were having difficulty in finding people to undertake the work. That is the cause of the delay. We shall pursue the matter as fast as we can, having regard to the difficulty of getting people to submit tenders.