Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

1996

Question 10/4/96 - Graham Allen (Labour, Nottingham North): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the design, build, finance and operate road contracts he expects to have let by April 1997, indicating for each the construction, non-maintenance projects he expects to have begun within these contracts by April 1997.

Answer - John Watts: To date, four design, build, finance and operate projects have been let to the private sector:

• A69 Carlisle to Newcastle DBFO project, which includes the A69 Haltwhistle bypass scheme;
• M1-A1 Yorkshire link DBFO project, which includes the M1-A1 link road: Lofthouse to Bramham scheme;
• A1(M) Alconbury to Peterborough DBFO project, which includes the A1(M) Alconbury to Peterborough improvement scheme;
• A419/A417 Swindon to Gloucester DBFO project, which includes the A419-A417 Cirencester and Stratton to Nettleton improvement scheme and A419 Latton bypass scheme.

Construction on these six schemes within the four DBFO projects will start in the 1996-97construction season.

A further four DBFO projects remain on course to be let by the late spring. Contracts for these projects are currently being negotiated with private companies. It is reasonable to expect that construction of the schemes encompassed by these four projects will have begun by April 1997, assuming that negotiation delivers bids which are good value for money. These projects are:

• A168-A19 Dishforth to Tyne tunnel DBFO project, which includes the A19 Norton to Parkway interchange improvement scheme;
• A30-A35 Exeter to Bere Regis DBFO project, which includes the A30 Honiton to Exeter improvement scheme and A25 Tolpuddle to Puddletown bypass scheme;
• A50-A564 Stoke to Derby link DBFO project, which includes the A564 Doveridge bypass scheme;
• M40 Junction 1 to 15 DBFO project, which includes the M40 junction 1A to 3 widening scheme.

Question 14/10/96 - Gwyneth Dunwoody (Labour, Crewe and Nantwich): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the annual cost to the department of contracts let for road building under the design, build, finance and operate system.

Answer - John Watts: I have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 16 October 1996:

The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent question about the cost of contracts currently let for road building under the design, build, finance and operate system.

The following figures illustrate the estimated range of annual cost (over a five-year period), based on the Highways Agency's forecast of traffic volume for the eight DBFO contracts awarded so far. These figures, which are cash price estimates, will be influenced by the usage of the DBFO road and performance of the DBFO company. The figures below do not include additional but relatively minor lump-sum payments covering, for example, archaeological works, which, because of their uncertain nature, are extremely difficult to estimate.

1996/97	£21m
1997/98	£68m
1998/99	£82m
1999/00	£163m
2000/01	£189m

Question 14/10/96 - Gwyneth Dunwoody (Labour, Crewe and Nantwich): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if the contractor building the road is liable for damages, should an accident occur on a design, build, finance and operate system financed road as a result of poor construction or design.

Answer - John Watts: Design, build, finance and operate contracts for roads place the responsibility for dealing with claims for damages resulting from poor construction or design on the contractor.

Question 25/10/96 - Gwyneth Dunwoody (Labour, Crewe and Nantwich): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the amount spent on (a) accountants, (b) lawyers, (c) consultants and (d) other professionals in relation to design, build, finance and operate road contracts since their inception.

Answer - John Watts: I have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the honourable member.

Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 4 November 1996:

The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent question asking if he will list the amount spent on (a) accountants, (b) lawyers, (c) consultants and (d) other professionals in relation to design, build, finance and operate road contracts since their inception.

The information you have requested cannot be disaggregated for reason of commercial confidentiality.

However, we can disclose that the amount spent on accountants, lawyers and technical advisors since 1994 in support of the design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) programme totals £13.5 million. This figure does not include consultants appointed to design schemes which subsequently become subsumed within a DBFO project.