HC Deb 10 July 1989 vol 156 cc679-80
14. Mr. Yeo

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received regarding his White Paper "Roads for Prosperity".

The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. Paul Channon)

The numerous representations that I have received recently about "Roads for Prosperity" have mostly expressed strong support.

Mr. Yeo

I thank my right hon. Friend for his helpful answer. Has my right hon. Friend seen a copy of "Regional Trends" published last week which shows that East Anglia is by far the fastest growing region in the country by almost any measure that my right hon. Friend can think of, including the number of Conservative Members of Parliament? In the light of that, will he bring forward at the earliest possible date those proposals in his White Paper which will be of great benefit to improving the road system in East Anglia?

Mr. Channon

Yes, Sir. I can give my hon. Friend that complete assurance. If my hon. Friend studies the proposals for East Anglia, he will see that £1,800 million of new schemes are added to the £700 million handled at the moment. That shows our awareness of the importance of the road network to the economic growth of East Anglia.

Mr. Foulkes

Is not the quickest and cheapest method of reducing congestion in the south-east of England to encourage firms in the south that have difficulty recruiting trained labour to move up to the north and to Scotland where there is an abundance of such labour?

Mr. Channon

I certainly would not disagree with that.