§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHY asked the Minister of Transport whether he has consulted, or intends to consult, the municipal authorities of Hull, and the representatives of commerce and of organised labour in that city, with regard to the proposed amalgamation of the Hull and Barnsley and the North-Eastern Railway Companies as outlined in Cmd. 787; and whether the special interests of Hull as a shipping port will be taken into consideration in any such amalgamation?
§ Mr. NEAL: The proposals of the Government outlined in Command Paper 787 do not represent a final or detailed scheme incapable of modification, and I intend to discuss these proposals with representatives of the railway companies, commerce and labour. The Government pledged themselves in 1918 to consult the Railway Companies' Association as to the future of railways before any Bill is presented to Parliament dealing with the matter.