HC Deb 29 June 1994 vol 245 cc628-31W
Mr. Cohen

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many environmental impact assessments relating to road schemes are currently in preparation by his Department.

Mr. Key

This question relates to the operational matters of the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive, Mr. Lawrie Haynes, to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Harry Cohen, dated 29 June 1994: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTS ON ROAD SCHEMES The Minister for Roads and Traffic, Mr. Robert Key, has asked me to write to you in reply to your recent Parliamentary question about environmental assessments. An environmental assessment is carried out for each scheme in the national roads programme and an Environmental Statement is published for those schemes which are likely to have a significant effect on the environment. The environmental assessment commences at a very early stage in the development of a scheme. The Trunk Road in England 1994 Review identifies the schemes in the national road programme together with their priority.

Mr. Cohen

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what criteria his Department's pre-1985 environmental assessment of the M11 link road was based upon; and if he will place a copy of these criteria in the Library;

(2) if he will give details of the schemes considered by his Department for the proposed M11 link road which fully complied with EC directive 85/337/EEC; what was the environmental impact and cost of each; and if he will highlight the differences of each from the scheme approved;

(3) when, before the 1985 decision to authorise construction of the M11 link road, the environmental effects of the scheme were assessed; and if he will place in the Library a summary of the main factors and considerations taken into account;

(4) if he will list all aspects of the current M11 Link Road project that do not comply with European directive 85/337/EEC;

(5) why the EC standards set out in European directive 85/337/EEC were not considered by the subsequent public inquiries into the M11 link road; if it is policy that the rules of such inquiries should allow consideration of such relevant environmental factors; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Norris

These questions all relate to the Al2 Hackney Wick to M11 link road, which is an operational matter for the Highways Agency, and I have therefore asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Harry Cohen, dated 28 June 1994: The Minister for Roads and Traffic has asked me to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Questions. about the environmental assessment of and the application of Directive 85/337/EEC to, the Al2 Hackney Wick to M11 Link Road since they are operational matters for the Highways Agency. Prior to the 1985 decision to proceed with the Link Road environmental assessments were carried out in preparation for the Public Inquiry held in 1983. These were in accordance with current knowledge of methods of assessment at that time and made use of frameworks as laid down by the 1977 report of the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment (SACTRA). A copy of that report is already available in the House of Commons Library. I enclose a copy of the framework relating to the Link Road. The best available summaries of the main factors and considerations then taken into account are contained in the Inspector's Report and the decision letter of the Secretaries of State, copies of both of which I understand were sent to you at the time they were published since you gave evidence at the public inquiry. Directive 85/337/EEC as implemented by section 105(A) of the Highways Act 1981 requires that where the Secretary of State has under consideration a proposed new highway he shall determine whether or not it requires an environmental assessment, and if so, that an Environmental Statement be published and the public be allowed to comment on it. The Secretary of State is required to consider the Environmental Statement and any opinion expressed on it and to publish his decision as to whether or not initiate the project. The European Commission has accepted that the Link Road project was begun before the Directive came into force in the UK and so the question of whether there are aspects of the Link Road which do not comply with the Directive, or of there being alternative schemes which do or do not comply, does not arise. No references were made to the Directive at the 1987 and 1989/90 public inquiries into the Link Road because development consent for the project had already been granted. Consideration has always been given to environmental factors at public inquiries where it was relevant to do so. I have also been asked to write to you in connection with your Parliamentary Question about the employment of Bray's Detective Agency, and since the reply concerns a number of road schemes I will send you a separate letter; however, for the sake of completeness of the record I will just mention here that the Link Road is one of those schemes.

Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what proportion of the Department of Transport road schemes in the last five years have not been recommended by public inquiry inspectors; and of those recommendations for rejection, how many have been endorsed by the Secretaries of State for Environment and Transport.

Mr. Key

[holding answer 23 June 1994]: As the information requested relates to operational matters of the Highways Agency, I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Simon Hughes, dated 28 June 1994: I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about how many and what proportion of the Department of Transport road schemes in the last five years, have not been recommended by public inquiry inspectors; and of those recommendations for rejection, how many have been endorsed by the Secretaries of State for Environment and Transport. In the last five years, five schemes have not been recommended by public inquiry inspectors out of a total of 146 schemes which have been to public inquiry. Of those five recommendations for rejection, the Secretaries of State for the Environment and Transport endorsed all but one small regional scheme. This has led to the removal of the schemes from the programme, or fresh orders being published. In about 40 cases the modifications, recommended by the Inspectors, have been endorsed.

Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has paid in bonuses on road construction contracts; and how much his Department has received in penalty payments on road construction contracts, over the past five years.

Mr. Key

[holding answer 23 June 1994]: As the information requested relates to operational matters of the Highways Agency, I have asked for the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Simon Hughes, dated 28 June 1994: I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about how much the Department of Transport has paid in bonuses on road construction contracts and how much the Department has received in penalty payments on road construction contracts, over the past five years. Incentive contracts involving bonuses and charges are used mainly for major maintenance. During the five year period 1989/90–1993/94, bonuses paid amounted to £18.3M and charges collected were £2M. These figures are based on contracts for which final accounts have been settled and could ultimately be higher. A measure of the ratio of traffic delay costs saved to net bonus payments made is averaging around 5:1. In addition, a total of £7.88M was paid out to two new construction contracts again for the economic advantages of having the new routes ready sooner, but of course the reason for paying bonuses is to reduce the time for the works and, therefore, the disruption caused to the travelling motorist.