§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the road-building contractors will meet the costs of security for the work carried out on the Newbury bypass; and if the Government will take into account the cost of security for road-building projects when considering other road schemes in the future. [26797]
§ Mr. WattsI have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Laurie Haynes to Mr. Graham Allen, dated 30 April 1996:
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent question asking if the road building contractors will meet the costs of security for the work carried out on the Newbury Bypass; and if the Government will take into account the cost of security for road building projects when considering other road schemes in the future.Under the terms of the contract, the cost of security on this scheme will be borne by the Agency.With regard to the second part of your question, the Department's standard scheme appraisal methods (principally COBA) take into account all expenditure incurred as a result of a decision to go ahead with a scheme. Thus, the costs of normal security precautions (to protect contractors' equipment for example), are already included. Where it is apparent that exceptional security measures are likely to be required, estimates of these costs will be made and taken into account in future studies.