§ Mr. Speedasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has completed the longer term review of the road programme promised in "Roads; England 1982".
§ Mr. David HowellOver recent months, we have been reviewing the prospects for the trunk road programme in the light of the excellent progress made recently. The results of this review are set out in a statement I am publishing today, copies of which are being placed in the Library and the Vote Office.
Completion of the present programme will come close to ensuring that, by the early 1990s, the trunk roads provide a national system of longer distance routes able to meet the needs of traffic to the end of the century and beyond, and to keep through traffic, including heavy lorries, out of built-up areas where it has no business. But gaps would need to be filled, and more towns to be bypassed. I am, therefore, adding over 40 new schemes to the active programme, and putting in hand studies of certain other problems. Details are set out in the statement.
But trunk roads are only part of the road system as a whole. Work continues, and will be reported to Parliament, on the needs of the rest of the primary route network which are to be discussed further with the local authority associations, on the needs of the major urban areas generally and London in particular, and on what this
438Wbudgeted for the current year; what was the total expenditure of his Department for each of the years concerned; and what percentage this publicity expenditure represented of that total expenditure.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe information requested on road safety publicity expenditure is as follows:
may imply for the balance of expenditure in the longer term between trunk and local roads and between new construction and maintenance.