§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will commission a further evaluation of the proposed route for the new Mersey crossing having regard to strategic communications from Wales, Cheshire, the Liverpool airport and the Wirral area as a whole. [19324]
§ Mr. WattsA study into such a crossing was completed in 1994 and copies of the study report were sent to MPs, MEPs and local authorities in the vicinity of the suggested crossing routes. It is not available generally. It was supplied to MPs and local authorities confidentially. The situation has not changed significantly since that time, when my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) said that a publicly-funded crossing could not be justified either on environmental or economic grounds. There is no justification for a further study by the Government.