§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to be able to announce road improvement schemes to be carried out on the A7 trunk road south of Hawick; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe Scottish Development Department together with Borders and Dumfries and Galloway regional councils are preparing a route action plan to identify and bring forward a series of improvement schemes on the A7 in Hawick and on the Scottish section of the A7 trunk road to the south.
The final report on a route strategy by the regional councils is due to be submitted in December 1992. Interim reports have been requested during 1991 on an initial series of road safety and overtaking opportunity schemes. Once these reports are available and have been studied by the Department, I will then be in a position to decide which schemes are to be constructed.