§ 30. Mr. Michael Heseltineasked the Minister of Transport if he will now publish the detailed figures for the estimated losses in 1968 on British Railways commuter and suburban services in the Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool areas.
§ Mr. CarmichaelI regret that all the detailed information is not available, but we intend to publish early in the New Year details of the grants which we estimate will be necessary to meet the deficit for 1969 on unremunerative services in the Passenger Transport Authority areas.
§ Mr. HeseltineWould not the Parliamentary Secretary agree that it is deplorable that 12 months should have gone by since we first asked for this information in the P.T.A. areas? As the information has long since been published in respect of the fourth one, Newcastle, it is quite intolerable that we cannot have it for the other three.
§ Mr. CarmichaelNewcastle was a simpler case. Only two services were affected in the Newcastle and Tyneside area and, when the figures were known, they were made public. There are many more services in the other areas. We hope that in 1969 the claims of the British Railways Board for grant will be available, and these will be made known to the P.T.A.s and the public.
§ Mr. BrooksIn preparing his statistics, would my hon. Friend agree that he might also attempt to quantify the social advantages of extending lines in areas such as Merseyside, as well as reducing them?
§ Mr. CarmichaelOnce figures have been published, this will be a matter for the P.T.A. in the area concerned which will be responsible for organising transport in its area.