§ Mr. MuddTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his Department's progress in reducing planning times for new roads, as recommended by the 15th report on road planning by the Committee of Public Accounts (Session 1988–89).
§ Mr. ChopeThe Department has implemented several measures to reduce the planning time for new roads, including the streamlining of procedures and the introduction of new forms of contracts for consultants engaged in design. These have enabled the Department to meet its target, noted by the Committee of Public Accounts in 1989, of reaching public consultation within three years rather than five years of a decision to put a scheme into the road programme. The Department is now assessing ways in which the best project management practice of the private sector can be applied to further speed up progress on road schemes.