HC Deb 17 May 1995 vol 260 cc247-8W
Mr. Mills

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will announce the date for the conclusion of the public inquiry on the proposed widening of the M42; and if he will make a statement; [24363]

Mr. Watts

This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to reply.

Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Iain Mills, dated 17 May 1995. As you know, the Minister for Railways and Roads, Mr. John Watts, has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will announce the date for the conclusion of the public inquiry on the proposed widening of the M42; and if he will make a statement. The Highways Agency have yet to put forward their recommendations to the Secretary of State on the options for widening following last year's public exhibitions. We are still considering carefully all the issues raised. The question of a public inquiry would not arise until the Secretary of State had announced his preferred option and the Agency had published draft Orders for the widening to which statutory objections have been received.