Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any additional costs to the public purse would arise from designating the route between Exeter and Plymouth as part of the strategic national transport corridor.

The Highways Agency published evidence reports for 18 Route Strategies in April this year, and the route between Exeter and Plymouth (the A38) was covered by the South West Peninsula route strategy. Since publication of the reports, the Agency has identified priority locations for possible future investment and started a programme of preliminary studies to identify options which would address the challenges identified. This hasinformed the investment decisions set out in the Department’s Road Investment Strategy.