Written question asked by Theresa Villiers (Conservative) on Friday, 19 October 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 23 October 2007. It was answered by Tom Harris (Labour) on Tuesday, 30 October 2007 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason road project each categorised on the Highway Agency's website as on hold is so categorised.

Answer: The 21 projects listed as ““on hold”” on the Highways Agency (HA) website comprise eight major schemes (two of which were in the Government's national roads programme and six which were being prepared for programme entry) and 13 Route Management Strategies.None of the eight schemes were prioritised for funding by the relevant regional bodies in their advice to Government and they were put on hold by the HA following the Regional Funding Allocations announcement in July 2006. Regional Funding Allocations will be reviewed in due course and regional bodies will have an opportunity to revisit their advice on priorities.The Route Management Strategies set out a long term assessment of route capability and priorities for service improvements. The Highways Agency is now developing its forward planning on a regional basis through the recent publication of the Regional Network Reports available on the Highway Agency website.

Secondary information