HC Deb 20 June 1979 vol 968 cc1301-2
8. Mr. Knox

asked the Minister of Transport when, following the publication of the preferred route of the Stoke-Derby road as it affects Draycott, Tean and Checkley in autumn 1978, he expects further developments to take place, and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

I hope to publish within the next few weeks draft statutory proposals for the Blythe bridge to Uttoxeter section, which will bypass the villages of Draycott, Tean and Checkley.

Mr. Knox

Does my hon. Friend realise the urgency of the construction of the Stoke-Derby route, particularly the section bypassing the villages? Do the Government intend to give priority to that section? When does my hon. Friend expect the construction work to start?

Mr. Clarke

I appreciate the great need for the section. I also understand my hon. Friend's persistence in pressing for an accelerated start. That section is the most advanced at present and presumably will remain so. Subject to the satisfactory completion of statutory procedures and the availability of funds, we hope to start construction by 1983.

Mr. Ashton

The Government were elected on a programme of public expenditure cuts. Are they now ratting on their promises, or was it in the pipeline from the Labour Government that such expenditure would continue? Will the hon. Gentleman tell the House the truth?

Mr. Clarke

Every Department is contemplating necessary cuts in public expenditure. However, that does not mean an end to the road programme. We intend to press ahead—where funds and statutory procedures allow—with schemes such as the one in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Leek (Mr. Knox).