§ Mr. Bellinghamasked the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to upgrade the whole of the Al in England to motorway standard; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. ChalkerOutside London the non-motorway sections of the Al are, in general, capable of handling the volume of traffic expected in the foreseeable future. Improvement of the Al to full motorway standard throughout would not be justified. A major improvement (to motorway standard) is in hand near Hatfield. Other planned improvements are set out in the White Paper "Policy for Roads in England: 1983" (Cmnd 9059). Further increases in capacity will be considered in the light of forecast traffic growth.