§ Mr. Whitakerasked the Minister of Transport what complaints her Department has received about the quality of the catering services on motorways, especially the M1; whether there is any provision for the revocation of a concession if the service provided falls below a certain standard; and whether she will insert such a proviso in the contracts of any future concessions.
§ Mr. Swingler66 complaints have been received, including 45 relating to the M 1, where the catering facilities at two of the service areas have been in operation for six years and are used by more than 100,000 people a week.
Service area operators must, under the terms of their leases, supply meals and refreshments of good quality at reasonable prices, but it would be impracticable to lay down specific standards for the quality of catering services. The services offered are acceptable to the great majority of users and we do not consider further safeguards to be necessary.