§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether their answer of 1st July to the Question, "How are the M.4-M.25 schemes encompassed in the terms of the relevant regional policy guidance referred to in the SACTRA response which will set out 'the broad strategic policies for land use and transport … and the appropriate transport strategy' (paragraph 16.16)" means that their current M.4-M.25 schemes have been put forward before the regional planning guidance for the South East has been agreed and published, despite their undertakings in their Response to the Report of the Standing Committee on Trunk Road Assessment (SACTRA), of March 1992.
The Earl of CaithnessNo new schemes for increasing the capacity of either the M.4 or M.25 have been added to the national roads programme since the draft regional planning guidance for the South East was published.
§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the short- and long-term effects of transport pollution have been calculated and fully taken into account in the M.4-M.25 schemes, and whether the local environmental health officers concur with the Department of Transport's calculations and proposals.
The Earl of CaithnessAll national trunk road improvement schemes are subject to an environmental assessment. An environmental statement is published for all schemes that have a significant effect on the environment in accordance with EC Directive 85/337 as implemented by Section 105A of the Highways Act 1980. Pollution is among the topics covered in the environmental assessment.