Highways England plans to improve traffic flows at an important junction for the millions of people that travel to Birmingham International Airport every year and also surrounding venues such as the National Exhibition Centre.

The project, due to start in 2020, will see the creation of a new 2.4km dual carriageway link road – aligned to the west of Bickenhill – between the A45 Clock Interchange and a new junction on the M42 south of junction 6 located north of Solihull Road.

We are inviting everyone to have their say on the details at a public consultation running from 9 January 2018 until 19 February 2018 on the preferred route for M42 junction 6.

Highways England senior project manager, Jonathan Pizzey, said

We want to make sure that local people and other stakeholders have a say in the project.

We’ll be taking all comments into consideration as we complete the design, prior to making a planning application later in 2018. All comments will be considered, and we will provide a report identifying how they have influenced the design.

As part of the scheme there are also plans to improve traffic flow at the M42 junction 6 roundabout – a well-known bottleneck – by providing dedicated left turn links between the M42 and A45 at the NEC and the north east side of the roundabout. This will benefit motorists by reducing congestion and improving journey times around the junction, as well as access to and from the motorway.

We will continue to work closely with all stakeholders through the detailed design and statutory process to ensure their views and ideas are incorporated into the design where appropriate.

Construction is expected to start in 2020 and completion is due in 2023; subject to DCO approval in 2019.

For a copy of the preferred route announcement leaflet and more information about the scheme, visit the M42 junction 6 Improvement website.

Members of the public can also contact the project team by emailing m42junction6@highwaysengland.co.uk or by calling Highways England Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000.

LINC was launched in autumn 2017 and is already opening the door to work at Sellafield.

LINC was launched in autumn 2017 and is already opening the door to work at Sellafield.

The UK and US have set up the Trade and Investment Working Group with an aim to deepen our bilateral trade and investment relationship. The group has been discussing:

• how to provide commercial continuity for US and UK businesses when the UK leaves the EU
• what both sides can do in the short term to facilitate bilateral trade and investment

We cannot complete a free trade agreement (FTA) before leaving the EU but the UK and US will work together to prepare the ground for a future FTA once the UK has left.

An opportunity for growth

The US is our largest trading partner outside the EU, accounting for a fifth of all exports, and trade between the 2 countries is worth over £160 billion a year. It’s also the single biggest source of inward investment into the UK, standing at £252 billion at the end of 2015. Our economic prosperity is enhanced by the depth of our trade, financial, cultural and investment links with the United States.

Exchanging information

To have successful discussions, the working group needs to exchange information. The UK and US have exchanged letters setting out our joint commitment to treat this information as confidential, unless both sides agree otherwise. As discussions involve exchanging information on how we can deepen our trade and investment ties, it’s important for both sides to trust that this can be exchanged in confidence.

The agreement we have reached:

• does not supplant the government’s duty to consider requests under the Freedom of Information Act
• is compatible with the Cabinet Office guidance on how the government should exchange classified or sensitive information internationally, with other government or organisations

Sharing information outside of government and the working group

Government has the discretion and autonomy to share information with bodies, groups or individuals. Under these arrangements, we have made the commitment to do so in a way that maintains the confidentiality of the information, unless the UK and US governments agree it can be treated otherwise. The same applies to the US government’s treatment of information relating to the Trade and Investment Working group shared by the UK.

UK government information regarding the Trade and Investment Working Group that is not shared with the US is not subject to these arrangements and will be treated as all other government information of the same nature.

Read the UK and US governments’ letters on the treatment of information exchanged during the the UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group.