Mr. TREVELYAN THOMSONasked the Minister of Transport whether he has had compiled, or is having compiled, a Return of the capital expenditure of the railway companies of the United Kingdom as at 31st December, 1913, and of their traffic receipts, working expenditure, and net income for that year; whether such Return, if it has been compiled, or is being compiled, is to be supplementary to or in substitution for Command 8,038, issued by the Board of Trade in 1915, and is also supplementary to, or is identical with, the Return prepared by Sir William Plender, 467W and used by him in giving evidence before the Hallway Rates Advisory Committee in October; and whether such Return will be issued as a Command Paper or otherwise; and what has been, or will be, the cost of its preparation?
§ Mr. NEALIt is not proposed to issue any further Return relating to the year 1913, but that for the year 1919 is now being compiled, and will include a statement explaining the differences to which the hon. Member alludes, and which are indicated in my reply to a somewhat similar question by the hon. Member for Bedwellty on the 23rd instant.