§ 98. Mr. Wingfield Digbyasked the Minister of Transport, in view of the fact that most of the money to be saved under the proposals of the Beeching Report will be at the expense of country towns and rural areas, what additional expenditure he puroposes to authorise on roads in those areas; and how much of this will fall on the rates.
§ Mr. HayThe Government are considering every aspect of the Railways Board's proposals but it is too early to say what additional expenditure on the roads will be necessary.
§ 99. Mr. Wingfield Digbyasked the Minister of Transport what steps he intends to take to ensure that the bus services which are to replace rail services under the proposals of the Beeching Report are to be sufficiently fast to form a reasonable alternative.
§ Mr. HayOn this, as on other relevant matters, we shall take account of any views expressed by the Transport Users Consultative Committees before deciding whether to give consent to a passenger closure and what conditions should be attached to it.