Since 1 January 2019, the Department has liaised with Suffolk County Council to support them in developing the evidence required to facilitate a thorough and efficient assessment of the proposed scheme. This has included analytical support to scheme promoters, in advance of Transport East submitting the scheme proposal to the Department on the County Council’s behalf in July 2019, and following this submission. Department for Transport officials have had regular discussions with Suffolk County Council regarding the Ipswich Northern Route since January 1 2019. As well as regular engagement, the Department has offered analytical support to all scheme promoters as part of the Major Road Network (MRN) and Large Local Majors (LLM) programme.