§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if the "Trunk Roads in England—1994 Review" was(a) subject to, and (b) modified on account of, an environmental appraisal using the guidance contained in "Policy Appraisal and the Environment", produced by the Department of the Environment; and if he will publish the appraisal; [259]
(2) what alternative courses of action from those detailed in the "Trunk Roads in England—1994 Review" were considered in any environmental appraisal undertaken by his Department. [260]
§ Mr. WattsThe 1994 review involved a reassessment of priorities within the roads programme rather than the adoption of a new policy. As explained in paragraph 4.5 of "Trunk Roads in England—1994 Review", each scheme's likely effects on the environment were taken into account during the review. A number of schemes were withdrawn because they could not achieve an acceptable environmental balance.
§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures have been put in place by his Department to monitor the environmental impacts arising from the implementation of the "Trunk Roads in England—1994 Review". [261]
§ Mr. WattsThe environmental impacts of each scheme in the national roads programme are assessed and considered carefully before a decision is taken to proceed.
§ Ms Glenda JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department has provided for maintenance of the trunk roads network within the Greater London area in each of the years from 1991 to 1995. [273]
§ Mr. NorrisI have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Ms Glenda Jackson, dated 22 November 1995:
As you known, Steven Norris has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department has provided for maintenance of the trunk road network within the Greater London area in each of the years from 1991 to 1995.141WThe breakdown between Current and Capital maintenance expenditure on London's trunk road network is as follows:
£ million Financial year Capital expenditure Current expenditure Total 1991–92 42.2 18.6 60.8 1992–93 40.3 22.8 63.1 1993–94 44.6 22.5 67.1 1994–95 64.6 19.4 84.0
Current maintenance is largely safety-related and covers routine tasks, such as cleansing, changing light bulbs, grass cutting, winter gritting, emergencies/incidents cover, addressing safety defects and inspections. Capital maintenance includes essential repairs to carriageways, footways and structures to ensure safety and to protect the investment in the infrastructure.The variability in the Capital expenditure can be explained by variability in the requirement for major maintenance works. For example, in 1994 the M4 near Heathrow and the M1 near Scratchwood were successfully refurbished, including carriageway and drainage repairs, bridgeworks and the replacement of safety fencing and street lighting. I would add that the work was carried out with very little disruption to road users.