Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the cost-benefit ratio for the proposed A120 dualling scheme.

The Department’s most recent formal assessment of the value for money (VfM) and benefit cost ratio (BCR) for the proposed A120 Braintree to A12 scheme was completed in February 2022.

Five options were assessed at the time, and the BCRs of each ranged from 1.52 – 2.37, meaning that the VfM range was medium to high. The costs and benefits values used at that time are now out of date, however, and BCRs and VfM ratings are only one part of the overall assessment of a scheme’s deliverability, alongside broader strategic considerations and affordability.