§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the expenditure of the Highways Agency was in Hull in each 737W of the past five years, indicating the schemes on which it has been spent and the proposals for the next five years; and what the expenditure was for estuarial (a) ports and (b) cities, of a similar size and location to Hull. [155386]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 26 March 2001]: The question relates to operational matters on the Trunk Road in Hull. I have accordingly asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Tim Matthews, to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Tim Matthews to Mr. Kevin McNamara, dated 29 March 2001:
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on expenditure by the Highways Agency in Hull.
In broad terms the Agency has spent £ 7.631m over the past five years on routine maintenance and small-scale improvements on the A63 and A1033 in Kingston upon Hull including preparation work for the A1033 Hedon Road Improvement. This expenditure is split over the last 5 years as follows:
Financial year £ million 1996–97 0.177 1997–98 1.134 1998–99 1.551 1999–2000 1.943 2000–01 2.826 Total 7.631 The Agency allocates its resources on the basis of need and in accordance with the objectives laid down in our Business Plan as agreed with Ministers. I regret that since information is not held by the Agency in a format that allows comparison with other estuarial ports and cities of similar size to Hull, I am not able to supply this.
As to the future, the Agency's recently produced Business Plan for 2001/02 places a continuing emphasis on maintenance with an increase in resources over the next 3 years. Also, construction will shortly begin on the Hedon Road Improvement at an estimated cost of £53m. Construction will take place over a 2½ year period.
In addition to this, work is underway on the Hull East-West Corridor Multi-Modal Study. Led by the Government Office Yorkshire and Humberside the study will develop a sustainable and
Year Nature of work 1997–98 (from I May) Survey on home composting1 Research on effectiveness of proposed publicity for London Government Referendum2 1998–99 None 1999–2000 Research on awareness of abolition of leaded petrol1 2000–01 (to date) Bus passenger satisfaction survey1 DETR (Central) staff attitudes survey1,2 1 Quantitative 2 Qualitative Total planned expenditure on all these projects will reach £282,974 (excluding VAT) by the end of April 2001. Several projects involve both qualitative and quantitative research and it is not always possible to
738Wintegrated plan to address the problems on the A63/A1033 through Kingston upon Hull and its surrounding area. Amongst the matters being considered are measures that will:
Reduce congestion on the A63/A1033
Improve the economic viability of the Port of Hull and the use of the route as part of the E20 Trans European Corridor
Facilitate, where possible, economic growth and regeneration in Kingston upon Hull and East Riding
Reduce the environmental problems along the route (in particular noise and air quality).
The study is due to report in Autumn 2001 and its findings will be taken forward to the Regional Planning Body for their consideration in the first instance. Any proposals may subsequently go forward as candidates for programme entry.
Should you require any further information, please contact the Area Manager for this part of the Network, John Bagley at our Leeds office, on 0113 283 6495.