§ LORD SNOWMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty' s Government whether the effects on the tourist industry of the railway service to Stratford-upon-Avon have been studied; and whether there is an intention to improve it.]
§ THE MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO (LORD CHAMPION)My Lords, the Government have no evidence that such a study is needed. The provision of railway services to Stratford-upon-Avon is a matter of management for the British Railways Board, and it is up to the Board to assess the commercial considerations involved in the extension of any particular service. If the noble Lord has any suggestions to make for improving the service, I am sure the Board would be 719 very willing to consider them, but Her Majesty' s Government have no evidence of public dissatisfaction with the present arrangements.
§ LORD SNOWMy Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for that answer. May I ask whether he has talked to any American tourists in the last two years about the railway service to Stratford-upon-Avon? And is he aware that there is no service either to or from Stratford-upon-Avon on Sundays?—a condition which, I believe, is unique in all the major artistic tourist centres in the world.
§ LORD CHAMPIONMy Lords, I do not move in the circles where I would normally meet American tourists, so I have not discussed this question with them. Did I hear someone cry "shame"? The point is that, so far as the Board and the general tourist industry are concerned, neither the Board of Trade nor the Ministry of Transport has received any significant number of complaints from the public, and there has been, strangely enough if the conditions are as bad as my noble friend suggests, no previous Parliamentary interest.
§ LORD SNOWMay I press this matter more seriously? The danger is that tourism and the local profit or loss upon the Leamington—Stratford-upon-Avon line so far as I know have no point in Government where they can possibly be unified. May I suggest to my noble friend that he acquaints British Rail with the fact that this is not just a simple commercial operation but one which provides the amenities to a major tourist centre.
§ LORD CHAMPIONI am sure the point my noble friend has made will not be lost on the Board. It is an important one from the point of view not merely of the provision of transport but, indeed, of tourism in the whole of this country.
LORD INGLEWOODMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware that the point is more serious than his answers would lead us to believe? If he takes the Lake District, an important tourist area, as being a somewhat similar case, he will find that there is great keenness on the part of the railway in pulling up the lines and not in improving the services.
§ LORD CHAMPIONMy Lords, the fact is that the Board never consider pulling up lines until the public has deserted the lines and caused great losses to occur on them.