HC Deb 31 July 1998 vol 317 c605W
Mr. Edwards

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the proposals for noise mitigation measures on existing trunk roads in rural areas in the White Paper, A New Deal for Transport. [52251]

Ms Glenda Jackson

The White Paper states that we are examining the scope for noise mitigation measures on trunk roads built before the current standards of road construction were created. The report on the review of trunk roads in Wales expands on this, explaining that a separate announcement will be made on revised criteria for dealing with requests for noise mitigation in such cases. The White Paper also announces a new policy of considering the use of quieter road surfaces whenever a road needs to be resurfaced.

Mr. Fallon

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what resources are being made available to the Highways Agency for new measures to reduce motorway noise. [54679]

Ms Glenda Jackson

As indicated in the report A New Deal for Trunk Roads, a separate announcement will be made in due course about the budget to be made available for the Highways Agency to deal with the most serious and pressing cases and the new criteria to be used.