§ 50 and 51. Mr. Watkinsasked the Minister of Transport (1) what consideration he has given to the recommendations contained in the Report on the Rural Transport Problem in Wales, Command Paper No. 1821; and whether he will make a statement;
(2) whether he will consider including an area within the counties of Brecon, Carmarthen and Radnor as one of the selected rural areas which he proposes, following his statement on the report of the Jack Committee, to put in hand for a detailed study of passenger transport facilities, in view of the evidence given to, and the recommendations of, the Council for Wales and Monmouthshire Report on transport problems in respect of part of the area through which the Central Wales line passes, now proposed for closure for passenger traffic.
§ Mr. HayMy right hon. Friend has studied with great interest the careful and thoughtful Report of the Council. He is keeping in mind their views on rural transport generally, in dealing with particular aspects of the problem as they arise. On buses, we must await the studies, including one in Montgomeryshire, which he announced yesterday. The future of the railways both as to growth and contraction depends on Dr. Beeching's traffic studies. The Transport Act 1962 provides safeguards for local 49W users of passenger services. On roads, we will improve the north/south trunk road further as soon as we can; but it can only have higher priority, at the cost of other urgent schemes in Wales. I do not think we should be justified in changing present arrangements for minor roads. We are considering the Council's proposal that Wales and Monmouth should be one Traffic Area, balancing it against the present well-tried system based on the practical operations of transport.