§ THE EARL OF LAUDERDALEMy 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 whether, in the light of research studies, quoted by the Inland Waterways Association in their publication Barges or Juggernauts (which suggest that freight transport by waterway offers almost a five-fold fuel saving over that by road), they will commission cost/benefit and feasibility studies of the redevelopment of the inland waterways.
§ LORD GARNSWORTHYMy Lords, this publication, which covers a wide field, is being considered by my right honourable friend the Minister for Transport. He will complete this as soon as possible and will then see what further action needs to be taken.
§ THE EARL OF LAUDERDALEMy Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for that reply, and also thanking him for the reply that he gave on the same subject last week, may I ask whether he will draw his right honourable friend's attention to one or two aspects of this matter? First, the canals might provide a means for transferring water from one part of Britain to another in accordance with the proposals of the late Water Resources Board. Secondly, they might afford a 488 means of transport between the estuarial ports of the Humber and the Severn, the Mersey and the Thames. Will the noble Lord draw those points to the attention of his right honourable friend?
§ LORD GARNSWORTHYMy Lords, I shall be very pleased to do that.
VISCOUNT ST. DAVIDSMy Lords, is my noble friend aware—and, if he is not, will he now draw it to the attention of his right honourable friend—that the one thing missing in our whole transport policies is any reasonable way of measuring the cost of one form of transport against another, bearing in mind that the capital costs and interest on capital are not considered in each case. For example, they are considered for rail and water, but not for roads. Is any study being undertaken which includes the capital cost for each case? If it is not, will the noble Lord's Department consider the matter?
§ LORD GARNSWORTHYMy Lords, I am aware of the difficulty and will certainly draw my right honourable friend's attention to the concern of my noble friend.
§ THE EARL OF LAUDERDALEMy Lords, will the noble Lord draw one further aspect to the attention of his right honourable friend; namely, that the advent of the barge-carrying ship, the BACAT, the LASH ship and the SEABEE, means it is now possible—at any rate in theory—for bulk materials to be moved from the heart of Britain to the heart of Europe or Eurasia by water without any double-handling?
§ LORD GARNSWORTHYMy Lords, may I say that if the noble Earl would care to call at the office to discuss this matter in detail, we should be delighted to receive him.