HC Deb 18 April 1973 vol 855 cc478-9
13. Mr. R. C. Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce his decision concerning the future production of the 2.-in.-to-the-mile Ordnance Survey maps.

Mr. Graham Page

My right hon. and learned Friend expects to be able to announce a decision on completion of his conferences on this matter.

Mr. Mitchell

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the reports that there is a possibility that the production of 2.-in. maps will be discontinued have caused considerable concern among ramblers' organisations and others who make great use of these maps? Will he undertake to consider very carefully all the representations made to him, and not necessarily to make his decision on purely commercial grounds?

Mr. Page

Yes, indeed. All representations will be taken into account. The review is being undertaken to discover what use is made by Government Departments, statutory undertakers and local authorities. We are faced with the fact that 2,015 sheets of the 2.-in. maps are produced and of only two-thirds of these are more than 200 copies sold.

Mr. Waddington

May I reinforce the point made by the hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. R. C. Mitchell)? If sheets covering certain parts of the country were no longer published, would not there be a danger of footpaths in those parts being used less and less and eventually disappearing from local knowledge? That would be a great tragedy.

Mr. Page

I appreciate that. The question is whether we should reproduce all the 2,015 sheets or whether there is a demand for a part of them which can be commercially viable.

Mr. Oakes

The Minister says that he is considering Government Departments' and local authorities' reactions. Will he bear in mind the public need for the maps, and their growing use by the public, as well as the needs of Government Departments and local authorities?

Mr. Page

Yes, Sir. I am considering that need as well. I wanted to be quite frank, and to say that the review was to ascertain the demand from Government Departments—a demand that we would subsidise. In addition, we are taking account of representations from schools, ramblers' associations, and so on.

Mr. Ronald Bell

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that there is a big gap between the 1-in. and the 6-in. maps, that the 2.-in. series has only fairly recently been coming out in a folder form, which is convenient to people to buy and use, and that it will not really have had a fair trial on the market until it has has covered a substantial area of the country?

Mr. Page

I am sure that my hon. and learned Friend is right. That is the sort of thing we want to review. The commercial demand does not exist at present. Whether that is because the demand has not built up properly, I do not know. That is what we shall find out from the review.