§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he proposes to take to ensure that the owners of the Channel tunnel do not reduce their fares to less than the full cost, including interest payments on capital, in order to force the Channel ferries out of business.
§ Mr. David MitchellUnder the Channel fixed link treaty and concession agreement, Eurotunnel is free to set tariffs without Government interference. It is, however, subject to national and Community competition law. Any necessary action would be for the Director General of Fair Trading and the European Commission or, since Community law is of direct effect, for private parties in the courts.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will publish in theOfficial Report (a) the projected cross-Channel passenger and freight traffic for 1987 as given or implied in his Department's 1973–74 report on the economics of the Channel tunnel, (b) the assumed level of fares and rates in 1987 in terms of 1987 prices and (c) the realised 1987 figures in each case.
§ Mr. David MitchellThe forecasts to which the hon. Member refers are those in a report by Coopers and Lybrand Associates Ltd. presented to the then Secretary of State for the Environment on 31 May 1973. These forecasts were published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office in "The Channel Tunnel: A United Kingdom transport cost benefit study."
Section V of the report deals with traffic between Britain and Europe in the absence of a Channel tunnel and includes passenger and freight forecasts (tables 5.1 and 5.2). These forecasts relate to 1980 and 1990. The table compares the actual figures for passengers and freight in 1986, the latest year for which full figures are available, with the forecasts given in the report for 1980 and 1990.
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Forecast Actual 1980 1990 1986 PASSENGER TRAFFIC (000'S) Shipping services: Accompanied vehicle passengers 9,230 19,331 14,000 Other passengers 7,756 10,718 7,300 Air services: passengers 29,778 63,221 33,200 Total passengers 46,764 93,270 54,500 FREIGHT TRAFFIC (tonnes 000's)
Forecast Actual 1980 1990 1986 Roll-on/Roll-off and container traffic 13,139 25,283 23,800 The forecasts assumed that fares and rates would remain at the 1971 level in real terms (except for a 20 per cent. increase in real terms on the Belgian straits shipping routes). As I indicated in my reply to a question from the hon. Member for Stretford (Mr. Lloyd) on Friday 13 May, at column 275, the Department has no responsibility for ferry fares and does not compile records of ferry fare levels.