§ 16. Mr. Ernest Daviesasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how 1093 the total investment in the railway programme for the two years 1958 and 1959 compares with the total forecast in the regional budgets produced subsequent to the imposition of the 1957 restriction on capital investment.
§ Mr. WatkinsonAs these budgets are part of the internal administrative arrangements of the British Transport Commission, no details were submitted to me.
§ Mr. DaviesBut is not it unfortunate that the arbitrary cuts in capital expenditure were imposed before the regions had been consulted and it had been ascertained by how much they were able to accelerate their programmes? Has the Minister these figures or can he obtain them from the Commission, to see whether the capital investment programme could be accelerated still further, since it is a matter of great urgency, as is shown by the economies now being made?
§ Mr. WatkinsonIt is rather an old story now. As the hon. Gentleman knows, since all this discussion the railways have been granted another £25 million. This is, I think, extremely generous treatment; they will make good use of the money, and I think that they had better get on with it.
§ Mr. DaviesIs it a fact that of that £25 million only £15 million is in addition to the original programme intended to be carried out? Can the Minister say whether, if the regional programmes had been added together, they would have come to more or less than the total programme including this additional £15 million?
§ Mr. WatkinsonI am not concerned with that. What I am concerned with is that, in the recent discussions I had on behalf of the Government with the Transport Commission, the Commission received the amount of capital injection which it felt would most help it to speed up its most profitable services. That amount the Commission had; it has all it asked for on that basis, and I think that that is right, but I do not think there is justification for asking for any more.