§ Mr. MuddTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the annual expenditure of his Department on public local inquiries in each of the last 10 years, indicating the date, the cost and the duration of each inquiry.
§ Mr. AtkinsIn 1989, the last full year for which information is available, 30 inquiries into trunk road schemes were held. Details available are as follows:
Scheme Date Duration (days) A41 Chester improvement 17 January 2 A595 Egremont bypass 6 February 3 A12 Capel St. Mary 14 February 1 A47 Norwich southern bypass 21 February 4 A3 Milford bypass 21 March 9 A5 Telford — Shrewsbury bypass 4 April 5 A523 Macclesfield relief road 11 April 2 A259 Guestling Thorn diversion 18 April 4 A49 Weaverham diversion 26 April 5 A422 Alcester 2 May 1 A6 Burton Latimer bypass 6 June 1 A259 Dymchurch 13 June 2 A66 Bowes bypass — County boundary 20 June 2 A6 Improvement Derby 20 June 1 A65 Gargrave bypass 4 July 14 A339 Basinstoke northern bypass 4 July 1 A38 Alrewas — Barton 14 July 4 A40 Gipsey Corner 18 July 17 A590 Dalton-in-Furness bypass 9 September 5 A59 Mellor Brook bypass 26 September 4 A516 Etwall bypass 23 October 3 A47 East Dereham 31 October 2 A1 Gatenby Lane Leeming 7 November 10 A568 Widnes eastern bypass 8 November 4 M5 Warnden — Strensham 21 November 7 A12 Hackney Wick — M11 21 November 29 A31 Stoney Cross junction 21 November 10 A1 Tempsford 28 November 8 A41/A421 Bicester bypass 28 November 3 A27 Crossbush bypass 12 December 3 Accurate costs to the Department of these inquiries, including consultants' fees and costs, are not identified separately from total scheme preparation cost. Costs of the elements such as inspectors' costs, which can be identified, and details of previous years' inquiries could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.