§ Mr. Andrew HargreavesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the outcome of his consultation exercise on his proposals for a privately funded Birmingham western orbital route.
§ Mr. RifkindPrivate sector firms have responded positively to my suggestion of a private finance competition for the western orbital route. I now propose to go ahead with a competition for the road on this basis. I look forward to seeing their proposals for designing, financing, constructing and operating this road.
I share the concern of local interests about the need to protect the environment and avoid delay. I can give the 564W assurance that proposals for privately financed schemes will be subject to the same rigorous environmental appraisal as conventional roads. I will also keep the target for completion of this important facility as the late 1990s, as it had been for the public scheme.
It is important to move quickly in setting up a competition. I will shortly be inviting prequalifying bids from the private sector, so that a full competition can be held as soon as possible.