§ Mr. David PorterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the implications for his Department's(a) planning and (b) spending on roads of recent projections published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys that East Anglia will have in the next 13 years the greatest proportionate population increase of both people moving in and of new births of any English region.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyProjections by OPCS are taken into account along with other factors in the Department's forecasts of local traffic growth. The forecasts play an important part in the assessment of need and priority when determining how best to use the resources available for providing new and improved roads. They are revised regularly as more up-to-date information, such as the recently published figures, becomes available. The forecasts are taken into account when the Department is considering additions to the national programme of trunk and motorway improvements.