Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will place in the Library a copy of all scoping reports on air quality in respect of motorway improvement schemes produced in the last three years.

A copy of each Environmental Assessment Report produced for motorway improvement schemes in the last three years will be placed in the House Library by 30 January 2015.

It should be noted that Air Quality scoping reports are not produced as individual documents for motorway improvement schemes, but air quality is considered as part of the overall environmental scoping exercise which is undertaken for each project in line with the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Volume 11 Section 2 parts 4 and 6.

The results of the scoping exercise provide the basis for the subsequent Environment Assessment Report which provides decision makers and the public with an accessible document which:

• Describes and reports the environmental assessment activities;
• Provides a clearly auditable trail of assessment decisions; and
• Provides clear information on environmental mitigation to be implemented by a project.