§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps have been taken to relieve points on Britain's roads where freight transport is frequently held up. [90319]
§ Mr. JamiesonMy responsibilities extend only to the trunk road and motorway network in England. Issues on the rest of Britain's roads are for the National Assemblies of Scotland and Wales, or for the local highway authorities in the case of local roads.
623W"Transport 2010: The Ten Year Plan" sets out the Government's vision for a fairer and more effective transport system.
Pilot studies into the active management of road traffic and making better use of the existing road space are being undertaken by the Highways Agency. To help deliver the reduction in congestion, the Highways Agency is also developing its role as a traffic manager to help road users deal with congestion on motorways and other strategic routes. Actions to date include the delivery of more electronic Variable Message Signs, automatic hold up warning systems, website and public information improvements and the first stages of a new national Traffic Control Centre due to begin operating in 2004. The Traffic Control Centre will provide advice to road users about travel conditions on the trunk road network allowing them to plan their journeys more effectively to avoid congestion. In conjunction with the Police and other emergency services, the Agency is improving the way it deals with accidents and incidents on the network so that they are dealt with more effectively, reducing the time roads are disrupted to minimise congestion.
Where necessary, programmes of works such as the Targeted Programme of Improvements, currently comprising 71 schemes, and the recently announced 92 priority junction schemes will be delivered. Both will provide increased capacity and improve conditions on the network. In 2002–03 we will deliver 10 major schemes from our Targeted Programme of Improvements and in 2003–04 we expect to deliver a further nine schemes.