HC Deb 17 March 1953 vol 512 c2059
52. Mr. Stokes

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how much money was refunded to the British Transport Commission in 1952 for sleeping berths reserved for, but not taken up by, civil servants on trains travelling to Scotland.

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

I am making inquiries about this matter and will write to the right hon. Gentleman.

Mr. Stokes

I do not want a written reply. May I ask the hon. Gentleman whether, in his inquiries, he will satisfy himself that cancellations are not allowed too near the time of the departure of the train, so causing great inconvenience to the travelling public; and is he aware that I have constantly found myself twentieth or thirtieth on the list the day before the train goes, and then, somehow or other, the passengers melt away like snow in August, and I get in quite safely, and there are compartments to spare?

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

This question caused a great deal of trouble up to 1948, when the general priority system in respect of the public service was abolished. If difficulties arise on a much more restricted scale now in any Department, I will do my best to remedy them. I appreciate the force of what the hon. Gentleman has said.

Lieut.-Colonel Lipton

Can the hon. Gentleman say what further steps have been taken to reduce the number of sleeping berths reserved for Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries in Whitehall, which is in itself as important as the Question put by my right hon. Friend.

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

That is another Question.