§ 51. Mr. F. Noel-Bakerasked the Minister of Transport what are the names and positions of the civil servants who served on the Stedeford Committee which advised him on the reorganisation of the British Transport Commission, and of the witnesses who appeared before it; what were the committee's rules of procedure; whether it has now completed its work; whether all its recommendations have been sent to the British Transport Commission; and when he proposes to publish these recommendations together with the evidence upon which they are based.
§ Mr. MarplesAs I explained to the House in a debate on 13th April, 1960, the Special Advisory Group was not set up as a formal committee. It had, therefore, no formal rules of procedure.44W The Group has now completed its work, each of its Recommendations having been sent simultaneously to the British Transport Commission and myself. The Ministry of Transport representative was a Deputy Secretary in the Department and the Treasury representative an Under Secretary.
As regards publication of the Group's Recommendations, I have nothing to add to the statement which I made to the House on 13th April and the further statement made by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary in the debate on 26th October.
I do not think it would be proper to list the names of individual witnesses, but the greater part of the evidence taken by the Special Advisory Group came from members and officers of the British Transport Commission.