---

Regional Economy (Tackling the Recession)

I remind the Minister that the A1 north of Newcastle is not a motorway by any stretch of the imagination. It is a single carriageway that needs to be a dual carriageway. I entirely support the policy of giving up on constantly widening the motorways that cut across the midlands and the south of England. Adding extra lanes to the M25, for example, does not make environmental sense and, rather than assisting the strategic development of regions that need more economic activity, congests regions that already have heavy rates of such activity. Perhaps I need to provide the Minister with a more detailed explanation; I would be happy to assist him in that respect. On road transport—this issue is close to the Minister’s own constituency so he will be well aware of it—what will happen upon the completion of the second Tyne tunnel? If we do not proceed with work on the roundabouts at either end of the Tyne tunnel, which connect it to the rest of the road system, the creation of the second tunnel will not achieve its purpose of reducing congestion in Tyneside or of opening up travel into south-east Northumberland and further into north Northumberland. I hope that the Minister has that firmly on his agenda, because if not it will generate a considerable problem.