Motorway Service Areas

HC Deb 16 May 1973 vol 856 cc1496-7

16. Mr. Fowler

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the progress of his inquiry into the standards of motorway service areas.

Mr. Speed

I have now been able to visit officially some service areas in this country, and I hope soon to visit more before I have discussions with the operators.

Mr. Fowler

Regarding my hon. Friend's visits to motorway service areas, is he aware that no Minister can make a greater self-sacrifice in the public interest than by condemning himself voluntarily to a diet of motorway food? Seriously, does my hon. Friend recognise that there is grave dissatisfaction about the standards of these service areas, particularly on the Ml? Will he, therefore, take measures to consult consumers to see what improvements they want?

Mr. Speed

I take my hon. Friend's point. I was delighted to see him consuming food at a motorway service area that I visited recently, and sharing in the agonies of that, perhaps. A survey of public opinion will start at the end of this month. This will include many thousands of users—commercial and business men and tourists. We are very interested in the public's views. I am determined that, following this exercise and with the co-operation of the operators we shall radically improve the standards of these areas.

Mr. Whitehead

Is the Minister aware that many of us consume not only motorway food but motorway prices, at least twice-weekly, as we drive to our constituencies. When he completes his inquiry, as an adjunct to it will he publish details of the profitability and turnover of all the motorway service stations, in view of the quite excessive increases in price in these cafes in recent years?

Mr. Speed

I do not accept that there have been excessive increases in price. In recent years many operators have been making no profit, or very little profit, on their operation. They have to provide a 24-hour service, free lavatories, parking, and so on. By the terms of the contracts that we have, the taxpayer shares very much in any profits that these service areas make; so it is not all on one side.