§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Transport what was the reason for the closure of the M6 motorway between junctions 5 and 6 on Sunday 9 January: what was the total cost of closure including police costs and if these will be borne by his Department.
§ Mrs. Chalker[pursuant to her reply, 17 January, c. 80.]: The closure was to allow measurements to be taken on the road surface to check compliance with the specification. My Department does not have information on the police costs involved on road closures. We do not yet know the costs of the road closure incurred by our agents, but a preliminary estimate puts the figure al rather less than £1,000. The question of who pays for the road closure is under discussion with West Midlands county council.