HC Deb 22 June 1955 vol 542 cc1302-4
50. Mr. Nabarro

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will introduce legislation to remove control of the canals from the British Transport Commission and create full scale rivalry and competition between railways and canals.

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

No, Sir.

Mr. Nabarro

Is it not a fact that under the present arrangements the railway interests dominate the British Transport Commission, and for seven years have been busily engaged in strangling the canal interests? Does not my right hon. Friend agree that unless we can get some form of rivalry and competition between these alternative forms of transport, inevitably the canals will be said by the Commission to be totally uneconomic eventually, and will thereby entirely pass out of use?

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

I do not accept my hon. Friend's assumptions. He may be interested to know that work to improve and recondition certain canals which, in the view of the Commission, have important transport interests, is in process of being approved.

Mr. H. Morrison

Is it not true that the process of making the British Transport Commission a predominantly railway concern is the result of legislation by this Government? Is it not also true that the process of what the hon. Member described as strangling the canals started many years ago, when the private railway companies acquired the canals in order to close them?

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

As I told my hon. Friend, I do not accept that there is at present a process of strangling the canals. I should be happy to go into historical reminiscences with the right hon. Gentleman.

Mr. Nabarro

Can my right hon. Friend say how we can possibly get competition between the railways and canals, which is what we want, so long as both of them are owned and managed by the same body? Unless there are different bodies running them in competition, how is it possible to get efficiency?

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

That is for too big a question to consider by Question and Answer at Question Time.

Mr. Monslow

Would the Minister not agree that to have an economic transport system in Britain we must have co-ordination of all three forms of transport?

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

That is also far to big a question with which to deal at Question Time.