§ 43. Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Transport if Her Majesty's Government will give priority to a second Severn crossing a third Dartford tunnel and the faster completion of the present trunk road programme over a Channel crossing.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe trunk road programme will be completed as quickly as the statutory procedures and necessary finance allow.
The need for a second Severn crossing has not been established but a study into how a second crossing might be provided—should it be needed—is under way and will be completed in 1986.
The Dartford tunnel is the responsibility of Essex and Kent county councils but traffic flows are being monitored and the need for extra capacity will be reviewed as necessary.
The Government have made clear that any scheme for a Channel fixed link would have to be financed entirely by the private sector and without any form of Government commercial guarantee.