HC Deb 14 July 1976 vol 915 cc630-2
3. Mr. Moate

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next proposes to meet the Chairman of the British Railways Board.

The Secretary of State for the Environment (Mr. Peter Shore)

I last met the chairman on 14th June. I expect to have further meetings as the need arises.

Mr. Moate

Can the Secretary of State say whether British Rail plans and expenditure will be affected by the forthcoming cuts in public expenditure? If not, can he tell us when he will be announcing his strategy for British Railways.

Mr. Shore

I am glad to notice the note of hesitancy in respect of the question that the hon. Gentleman puts to me. Obviously any speculation about future public expenditure cuts is, at this stage, hypothetical. On the second part of the question, we are proceeding with the transport policy review. All written submissions will be in by the end of the month, and as soon after that as possible I hope to come to conclusions.

Mr. Dalyell

Is my right hon. Friend aware that over the past three months I have had 15 times as many letters from pigeon fanciers concerned about transporting their pigeons by British Rail as I have had about a Scottish Assembly? Will he get his priorities right? What will he do about this grave matter?

Mr. Shore

I take due note of the importance of this subject, but I understand that the board has decided not to implement the original proposal—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."] No, wait a minute—to impose restrictions, pending further consideration of the matter by the Central Transport Consultative Committee

Mrs. Kellett-Bowman

When the Minister gets round to seeing the chairman in, I hope, the near future, will he point out to him the great hardship that has befallen the town of Carnforth, which in the past was a magnificent railway town and which still depends to a large extent on railways, and where the number of jobs has decreased from 702 in 1966 to 358 today? The jobs are still disappearing. Will the right hon. Gentleman ask the chairman to have mercy on these people and keep them in work?

Mr. Shore

I am sure that the Chairman of British Rail will always give careful consideration to the effects of employment and services in areas that are serviced by British Rail. Beyond that, I can only say that I am sure that the chairman will have noted what the hon. Lady said.

Mr. Cryer

Will my right hon. Friend convey congratulations to British Rail's Chairman, if he meets him, on the decision to defer the end of pigeon traffic? Will he also impress on him the desirability of British Rail's not discarding freight traffic, but grabbing all it can? Will he tell the chairman that sometimes British Rail's attitude to freight traffic is so indifferent that it seems to be helping the British Road Federation? Will he explain to the chairman that, as a matter of policy, we want to get as much traffic as possible off the roads and on to the railways?

Mr. Shore

I concur with my hon. Friend's sentiments. However, I would find it extraordinary if any Chairman of British Rail did not have much the same interests in mind.

Mr. Gwynfor Evans

When the right hon. Gentleman next meets the chairman, will he inform him of the persistent anxiety felt in western Wales about the future of the line from Swansea to Fishguard, running through Carmarthen and employing 500 people, and will he confirm that this anxiety is understandable, in view of the extensive closures in the 'sixties, in an area that was the most prosperous in the whole of the British Railways region? Will he ask the chairman to make a categorical statement that there is no danger of closure to this line?

Mr. Shore

I would hesitate to begin by asking the Chairman of British Rail to make categorical statements about every line in the country. However, as I have said, I hope at the end of our general consideration of transport policy to be able to make a much more general and also a more specific statement about the future of rail services in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Norman Fowler

Getting back to the subject of freight, is not the first aim of Government policy the elimination of British Rail's freight deficit? Will the Government give an assurance, first, that they see no justification for subsidising freight operations and, secondly, that that subsidy will be eliminated, as the right hon. Gentleman's predecessor would have eliminated it, by the end of next year?

Mr. Shore

What we are concerned with is the total subsidy bill of British Rail. As we have made clear, and as the last public expenditure White Paper made clear, we have to envisage not merely a no-growth situation in subsidies, but a reduction. In that document we did not allocate in any precise detail particular sums to particular activities, and for good reason—because we needed to have further discussions. I would treat this with some reserve, but my information is that there has been an improvement in the freight services this year, reflecting both some increase in charges and some pick-up in traffic. I hope that this will be a success.