§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to ensure that the financing of canal improvement schemes is managed upon an equivalent basis to highway construction and improvement schemes.
§ Mr. Giles Shaw[pursuant to his reply,22 October 1982]: No such steps are necessary. It is Government policy that freight services should be supplied on a fully commercial basis with fair competition between modes and without subsidy. Methods of assessment and financing are different to suit the different characteristics of each mode but all ensure that these policies are met. The only recent canal improvement scheme on the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation was the subject of a cost benefit study undertaken on a similar basis to highway studies.