Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to bring critical national infrastructure routes under his Department's control.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department does not designate whole routes as critical national infrastructure, only certain systems, or key infrastructure points.
Both Network Rail and National Highways are government owned companies, operating the rail network in Great Britain and motorway and major A-roads in England respectively.
We regularly review the strategic road network extent to ensure it remains fit for purpose, most recently in the consultation process that will inform the third road investment strategy, between 2025-2030.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to support motorists with road tolls.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Established government policy is that river and estuarial crossings will normally be funded by tolls, recognising the extra cost of their construction and maintenance, and also the substantial benefits for their users.
Other than such crossings and the M6 Toll motorway, the majority of the road network is free of tolls, and the Government has no plans to change this.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, to ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of tolls on major routes on the users of those routes.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The only charge for users of the current strategic road network managed by National Highways is at the Dartford Crossing, where evidence has shown that it helps manage congestion to provide more reliable journeys for users.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the condition of roads in England.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
During this Parliament the Government is investing over £5 billion in highways maintenance. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend this funding to fulfil their statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. The Department encourages good practice in highway maintenance through channels such as the Well Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice produced by the UK Roads Leadership Group (UKRLG).