Business of the House

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Thursday 7th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I cannot promise a debate immediately, but the hon. Lady makes an important point. I hope that if she is in her place on Monday at Education questions she might have a further opportunity to highlight it to Education Ministers. I recollect that at last year’s meeting of the United Kingdom Youth Parliament in this Chamber, its members resolved to pursue the issue of a curriculum for life, so they are on exactly the page to which she refers. When the Youth Parliament is here next week, it will have an opportunity to reinforce the point, which I hope that we as a House will then have further opportunities to take up.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

May we have an urgent debate on motorway congestion in West Yorkshire? For two years, my constituents have suffered from the implementation of the managed motorways scheme between Huddersfield and Leeds. Now the central barrier is being replaced, causing yet more congestion, and they cannot even use the M1 north from Wakefield to Leeds because it is now having its own managed motorway scheme implemented as well. This is a really important issue for my constituents every morning.

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who raised these important issues about the M62 earlier. There is inevitably some disruption during these works. He will know that the further work relating to barriers on the M62 was not able to be funded at the time when the managed motorways scheme was being introduced. That is a pity, but the work is now due to be completed in December. I can assure him that the Highways Agency will keep three lanes open to traffic during the day, limiting necessary lane closures to overnight where possible. I hope that the smart motorway works that have been undertaken will bring extra capacity and more reliable journeys for his commuters in future.