To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made a estimate of levels of congestion on the A13/A130 junction at Sadler’s Farm (a) now and (b) in each of the next 20 years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made a estimate of levels of congestion on the A13/A130 junction at Sadler’s Farm (a) now and (b) in each of the next 20 years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of traffic congestion on the a) A13 and b) A127 on commuter journey times.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of traffic congestion on the a) A13 and b) A127 on commuter journey times.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the state of litter collection on (a) the A13, and (b) the A12, and (2) whether National Highways is meeting its obligations to keep these roads clean.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the state of litter collection on (a) the A13, and (b) the A12, and (2) whether National Highways is meeting its obligations to keep these roads clean.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the amount of litter currently on the verges of (1) the A13 trunk road between the Limehouse Link and the junction with the A130, and (2) the A12 between the junction with the A130 and the junction with the...

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the amount of litter currently on the verges of (1) the A13 trunk road between the Limehouse Link and the junction with the A130, and (2) the A12 between the junction with the A130 and the junction with the...

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the state of the cleanliness of the A13 between the junction with the M25 and the junction with the A130; and what steps they intend to take to remove litter from that stretch of road.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the state of the cleanliness of the A13 between the junction with the M25 and the junction with the A130; and what steps they intend to take to remove litter from that stretch of road.

In May 2013 the Government consulted on options for a new road crossing of the lower Thames between Essex and Kent to the east of London. In December 2013 I announced Government’s decision to discard one of the options and that I was obtaining technical advice on points raised during...

In May 2013 the Government consulted on options for a new road crossing of the lower Thames between Essex and Kent to the east of London. In December 2013 I announced Government’s decision to discard one of the options and that I was obtaining technical advice on points raised during...

My Right Honourable friend, the Secretary of State for Transport (Patrick McLoughlin), has made the following Ministerial Statement:

In May 2013 the Government consulted on options for a new road crossing of the Lower Thames between Essex and Kent to the east of London. In December 2013 I announced Government’s decision...

My Right Honourable friend, the Secretary of State for Transport (Patrick McLoughlin), has made the following Ministerial Statement:

In May 2013 the Government consulted on options for a new road crossing of the Lower Thames between Essex and Kent to the east of London. In December 2013 I announced Government’s decision...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Streeter, and good to see my hon. Friend the Minister in his place. I have debated these matters a number of times with a number of Ministers over the past three and a half years, but this is the first...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Streeter, and good to see my hon. Friend the Minister in his place. I have debated these matters a number of times with a number of Ministers over the past three and a half years, but this is the first...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing such an important debate and pay tribute to the work she has put into trying to alleviate the congestion that affects both her constituency and mine. Does she acknowledge the difficulties that would result from putting an extra crossing at so-called option A,...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing such an important debate and pay tribute to the work she has put into trying to alleviate the congestion that affects both her constituency and mine. Does she acknowledge the difficulties that would result from putting an extra crossing at so-called option A,...

My hon. Friend pre-empts much of what I was about to say. I completely agree with him. That is really the mistake in the present options before us—to be honest, they are just lines on a map. They are sticking plaster, informed more by cost than by what is in...

My hon. Friend pre-empts much of what I was about to say. I completely agree with him. That is really the mistake in the present options before us—to be honest, they are just lines on a map. They are sticking plaster, informed more by cost than by what is in...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing such an important debate. She is talking about the resilience of the road network and the economic potential of south Essex. Of the two remaining options on the table, A and C, does my hon. Friend agree that as well as not addressing...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing such an important debate. She is talking about the resilience of the road network and the economic potential of south Essex. Of the two remaining options on the table, A and C, does my hon. Friend agree that as well as not addressing...

My hon. Friend is entirely right to identify that environmental impact of option C, which is perhaps the biggest barrier to that option. In addition, option A would have a significant effect on air quality. Taken together, both of those impacts—we are talking about serious environmental damage—show that we are...

My hon. Friend is entirely right to identify that environmental impact of option C, which is perhaps the biggest barrier to that option. In addition, option A would have a significant effect on air quality. Taken together, both of those impacts—we are talking about serious environmental damage—show that we are...

I will resume my critique of option A. As I was saying, it is the Highways Agency’s preferred option, due to the current challenges of managing traffic flow into the tunnels. However, as things stand, Thurrock routinely experiences gridlock whenever there is an incident at the Dartford crossing, and that...

I will resume my critique of option A. As I was saying, it is the Highways Agency’s preferred option, due to the current challenges of managing traffic flow into the tunnels. However, as things stand, Thurrock routinely experiences gridlock whenever there is an incident at the Dartford crossing, and that...

My hon. Friend is making some powerful points, particularly about option C. To maximise the potential for future growth in south Essex, does she

agree that looking again at options D and E would also allow us to make the most of Southend airport, which is now a growing hub...

My hon. Friend is making some powerful points, particularly about option C. To maximise the potential for future growth in south Essex, does she

agree that looking again at options D and E would also allow us to make the most of Southend airport, which is now a growing hub...

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point that illustrates again the importance of looking at transport issues not just in terms of rail, or roads, or airports, but in terms of the whole picture. Let me remind those people just down the river at city hall who talk about a...

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point that illustrates again the importance of looking at transport issues not just in terms of rail, or roads, or airports, but in terms of the whole picture. Let me remind those people just down the river at city hall who talk about a...

It is a great joy to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Streeter.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jackie Doyle-Price) on securing this debate on the options for the new lower Thames crossing. I acknowledge the attendance of my hon. Friends the Members for Rochester and Strood (Mark...

It is a great joy to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Streeter.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jackie Doyle-Price) on securing this debate on the options for the new lower Thames crossing. I acknowledge the attendance of my hon. Friends the Members for Rochester and Strood (Mark...

I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for his remarks and he is getting to the nub of the issue for myself and my hon. Friends who are here today, namely that the crossing is the only link between Kent and Essex and the only link that connects up our...

I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for his remarks and he is getting to the nub of the issue for myself and my hon. Friends who are here today, namely that the crossing is the only link between Kent and Essex and the only link that connects up our...

Well, nobody has come to me with the argument that we do not need to do something to alleviate the congestion, and of course the whole point of the Government’s consultation and the work that we are continuing to do is to ensure that we make the right decision based...

Well, nobody has come to me with the argument that we do not need to do something to alleviate the congestion, and of course the whole point of the Government’s consultation and the work that we are continuing to do is to ensure that we make the right decision based...

I pay tribute to the work of the Department for Transport. Back in 2010 the previous Prime Minister vowed to sell off the Dartford crossing. There was no plan to address the congestion and pollution in the area or to do anything to help small businesses based in Thurrock and...

I pay tribute to the work of the Department for Transport. Back in 2010 the previous Prime Minister vowed to sell off the Dartford crossing. There was no plan to address the congestion and pollution in the area or to do anything to help small businesses based in Thurrock and...