§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether the research team which was recently asked to recommend new travel-to-work areas was restricted by Her Majesty's Government as to the size of areas to be created; what were the criteria used in determining new areas; and what weight was given to access to private or public transport in determining those areas.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe basic criterion for a travel-to-work area is that most workers living in an area also work there, and most people who work in the area also live there. The review of the travel-to-work areas, which was based on an analasis of the travel to work patterns—irrespective of mode of transport—observed in the 1981 census of population, required areas to have a working population of over 3,000.