§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the Highways Agency will identify those projects that will be delayed or deleted as a consequence of the additional expenditure it will have to meet consequent upon the relaying of the capping and asphalt surfacing replacement between junctions 6 and 8. [19572]
§ Mr. WattsI have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Andrew Mackinlay, dated 13 March 1997:
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent question asking which projects will be delayed or deleted as a consequence of the additional expenditure on relaying the capping layer and renewing the asphalt surfacing between junctions 6 and 8 on the M25.It will be some time yet before we know accurately what the additional costs will be. They will be the subject of negotiations with the contractor and not all of them will fall to the Agency.It is therefore not possible to give a precise answer to the question but whatever the cost, we must manage our programme within our budget. That said, there are no proposals for deleting schemes as a consequence. The most likely outcome is an adjustment to the timing on delivering projects as part of our normal management of projects to budget. But given that any additional costs are minor in relation to our overall budget, any delays will be small.