§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what guidance is given by his Department to local authorities in assessing the need to construct bypasses;
(2) what provision he has made in the estimate of spending need for the next financial year of the Cheshire county council for capital expenditure upon road construction; what is the comparable figure in real and cash terms for the current financial year; and what consideration he gave in setting these figures to the need to construct the Wheelock bypass.
§ Mr. ChopeTransport supplementary grant and credit approvals for capital expenditure on local roads are allocated in the light of information presented in the annual transport policies and programme submissions from the 108 local highway authorities in England. The allocations for 1991–92 will be announced shortly.
Cheshire county council's latest submission shows that the main works on the Wheelock bypass are not due to start until 1993–94 and that the authority plans to spend only £55,000 on its design and other preliminary expenses in 1991–92.