§ 2.25 p.m.
§ LORD KILMANYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government when the weight and validity of local objection to closing the Edinburgh to North Berwick train service will be assessed, and which Minister will be responsible for the final decision.]
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS (LORD SHEPHERD)My Lords, the Railways Board's proposal to withdraw passenger services to North Berwick is only at a very early stage. My right honourable friend the Minister of Transport has not yet decided whether to allow its publication under Section 56 of the Transport Act 1962. If publication is permitted, this will initiate the whole procedure of 680 detailed examination of the proposal. Before reaching her final decision, my right honourable friend would then certainly take full account of the weight and validity of local objection. The final decision will be my right honourable friend's but she would, of course, consult my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
§ LORD KILMANYMy Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for that reply, may I ask whether he is aware that the case for keeping this line open is very strong indeed? Will he give the House an assurance that no closure will take place until the survey into the greater Edinburgh transport problem has been published and considered? Further, will the noble Lord give us an assurance that no closure will take place unless the Secretary of State for Scotland himself consents.
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, certainly my right honourable friend is aware of the concern that is felt between Edinburgh and North Berwick. In regard to the survey, I believe that this will be published shortly, and even under the procedure that is required before a line can be closed I am sure that it would be available and could be discussed, should a decision be taken. But as I said in my original Answer, and as I am sure the noble Lord will appreciate, this matter is at a very early stage, and my right honourable friend has not yet decided whether to publish the request of the Railways Board for the closure of this line. There is a long way to go before the railway line can be closed.
THE EARL OF HADDINGTONMy Lords, even at this early stage would it be too much to ask the noble Lord if he would take two points into special consideration? The first is the rapidly expanding population all along the Lothian coast. The second is that the more people who can commute from the East into Edinburgh the more chance there will be of alleviating the great urgency of the car-parking problem in that city.
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, these are obviously points which my right honourable friend will take into account, and so would the T.U.C.Cs, if the matter should ever reach that stage.