§ Mr. Iain Millsasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has yet received the final Atkins report on the bearings of the Midland links viaduct; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI have now received the final Atkins report. It states that the bearings on the Midland links viaducts are functioning as intended. There is no need for wholesale replacement at this stage.
The report makes recommendations to guard against problems which may arise in the future. I accept all of those recommendations which relate to the monitoring of the structures and tests on the friction at the bearings. Further consideraton is being given to one remaining recommendation about possible greasing of the bearings and a decision on this will be taken soon.
As with other reports on the current inspections of the Midland links, a copy of the final Atkins report is now available for scrutiny in the Department's West Midlands regional office. I shall place another copy in the House of Commons Library shortly.