§ 37. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Minister of Transport what has been the total capital investment in the Scottish Region of British Railways in each of the last five years; what has been the profit or loss in that period; and what are the estimated figures up to 1970.
§ Mr. John MorrisFor 1963 to 1967 the figures for fixed assets only are £1.9 million, £2.5 million, £4.7 million and £5 million. For 1968 the estimate is £5.5 million Firm figures are not available for later years.
The Board does not maintain its accounts in such a way that regional financial results can be calculated separately.
§ Mr. HamiltonFirst, can my hon. Friend say why this is not done; and, secondly, what proportion of that capital investment in the last two or three years has been devoted to the development of freightliner services?
§ Mr. MorrisI cannot give the proportion for freightliner development, but my hon. Friend will be aware that we have set up a number of freightliner depots in Scotland and they have been very successful.
Concerning the proportion of expenditure to the whole, my hon. Friend will be glad to know that the share of Scotland has gone up from 4.5 per cent. in 1963 to 9.6 per cent. in 1967.
§ 38. Mr. Hamiltonasked the Minister of Transport what proportion of 1536 total rail mileage in Scotland is defined as commercially unprofitable; and how much of this mileage it is her policy to keep open for social reasons.
§ Mr. MorrisI understand from the Railways Board that on present indications few, if any, railway passenger services in Scotland are commercially profitable.
During the course of this year my right hon. Friend will be considering, in respect of each service and in consultation with the Secretary of State, the extent to which she would be justified on social or economic grounds in paying grants to enable the Railways Board to continue operating unremunerative passenger services in Scotland.
§ Mr. HamiltonIs my hon. Friend in a position at this moment to state how much railway mileage has been kept open by the present Government which, under the Beeching proposals supported by the party opposite, would otherwise have been closed, and whether those lines will be subsidised by profitable lines elsewhere?
§ Mr. MorrisI cannot give the details without notice, but my hon. Friend will be aware that last March when we published the basic railway network map for the future of 11,000 miles, this was substantially in excess of what would have been the inevitable result of the Beeching proposals; and a large number of railway lines, which would inevitably have gone under the Beeching proposals, were saved specifically by my right hon. Friend's basic railway network map.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneThe hon. Gentleman's reply referred only to passenger services. What about freight services? To what extent will the iniquitous quantity licensing provisions of the Transport Bill oblige the Government to retain for social purposes freight services which would otherwise have been closed down?
§ Mr. MorrisI am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman wants them retained or not. Our proposals will help the freight system of British Railways. I hope that the hon. Gentleman understands this, although he may have voted against the Transport Bill. The freight lines themselves are matters for British Railways.