(2) what assessment he has made of the impact of his proposals for a national road pricing scheme on the need for the construction of the Mottram to Entwhistle by-pass.
Current legislation allows for new trunk roads (including motorways) to be tolled in order to recoup construction costs, but powers to price existing trunk roads to manage demand are very limited. Local authorities can propose pricing on nearby trunk roads as part of a local pricing scheme. Provided suitable proposals come forward from local authorities, we would expect to see the first schemes operational in four to five years. From these initial schemes we will evaluate the impacts of pricing and how it can be effectively used to manage demand.
We have no intention of pre-empting the debate to be had on national road pricing by seeking powers for such a scheme at this time.
At the moment, while we are still gathering evidence of how road pricing will be operating in practice, the Department, does not require the appraisal process for road improvement proposals to include an assessment of the impact of road pricing. However, we are keeping the position under review and looking at schemes on a case by case basis.