The future of the project was raised by Sir Geoffrey Clifton Brown MP during a Public Accounts Committee, with the Department for Transport confirming funding was available for all the process work on that scheme to continue.

Following an intervention and a question today in the house, the Cotswold MP asked the Secretary of State for Transport for a statement on the progress of the project, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP said:

“Sadly, there have been 10 fatalities and 123 casualties on that road in the last four years for which figures are available, so the improvement is desperately needed.

“Has my right hon. Friend had the chance to evaluate the Labour party’s proposals to scrap the roads programme, which would mean hundreds of road schemes such as this never being built and motorists being hugely inconvenienced?”

The Secretary of State for Transport responded:

“I have taken a personal interest in this project, which I regard as an important part of our infrastructure that needs to be addressed, and my hon. Friend will be pleased to know that it is moving forward.

“Highways England announced its preferred route for the scheme in March, and it is now preparing for the next stage of the planning process, statutory consultation, followed by a development consent order process.”

“We are putting in place schemes that will benefit road safety, that will improve journey times and that will be good for our economy. The A417 improvement is a much-needed scheme that does all those things, and it will be an essential part of this Government’s future planning. It is simply a tragedy that Labour wants to scrap it.”

Progress of the project Department for Transport that they are continuing with the preferred route consultation this summer and that work would also continue with the Development Consent process. The department confirmed that they had the funding to continue that work to support delivery dates until next April.