§ 37. Mr. RuffleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what recent representations he has received regarding spending on safety improvements on A roads. [133338]
§ Mr. HillMy Department receives representations from time to time, including those from the hon. Member in respect of the A14.
The Secretary of State is the highway authority for the trunk road network and will be spending £47 million a year on safety schemes. These will include schemes on both motorways and all-purpose A roads.
The Highways Agency safety strategy, published in March 2000, is to target expenditure to give best value for money with a maximum reduction in accidents, having due regard for our customers. To achieve this objective, the Agency have identified target user groups and is working with other Government Departments, the police, local highway authorities and others with regard to their concerns in helping to inform the programme.
The prioritisation of expenditure is ultimately for local authorities to decide in light of priorities within their local transport plan. The recent Spending Review 2000 provided £4.5 billion over the next three years for local transport capital expenditure—a 90 per cent. increase on the previous CSR period.