§ 59. Mr. Awberyasked the Minister of Transport if his attention has been drawn to a statement, made on 21st February by the President of the Institute of Transport, in which he said that our export and carrying trades are being handicapped by out-of-date dock facilities at some of our British ports; and what is being done to modernise them.
Mr. BraithwaiteI have seen a Press release of the statement to which the hon. Member refers. The modernisation of dock facilities at our ports is primarily a matter for the undertakings concerned; in recent years the ports have had to concentrate on repair of war damage and arrears of maintenance, but improvements in and modernisation of facilities are now taking place as fast as the limits necessarily imposed on capital investment will allow. So far as equipment is concerned, much progress has been made, particularly in the improvement of cranage.