Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce congestion on key commuter routes in Essex, such as the a) A13 and b) A127.

Most of the A13, other than a short stretch near the M25, and all of the A127 are roads for which the relevant local highway authorities are responsible. This includes monitoring overall network performance and addressing congestion issues.

The Department publishes statistics annually on gov.uk on the average speed, delay and reliability of travel times on the Strategic Road Network (SRN) and local 'A' roads. These are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/average-speed-delay-and-reliability-of-travel-times-cgn.

Motorways and trunk roads in Essex are the responsibility of National Highways. The Government has recently published the third Road Investment Strategy, its £27 billion 5-year plan for the Strategic Road Network. This includes an unprecedented £8.4 billion of investment in renewing the network, as well as investment in key enhancement schemes such as the Lower Thames Crossing.