§ Q18. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Prime Minister if he is aware of the concern expressed by industrial and commercial bodies in Scotland arising from doubt as to which proposed railway closures are to be implemented; and what principles Her Majesty's Government will apply to the problem of railway closures in Scotland, following the representations made to him on 27th January by the deputation led by the chairman of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry.
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§ The Prime MinisterI met representatives of Scottish interests on the 27th of January about the Railways Board's proposals for rail closures in Scotland. An agreed statement was issued after the meeting.
I assured the deputation that the social and economic implications would be taken fully into account before my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport took his decision on particular passenger closure proposals.
The principles which the Government will apply are those given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport in his statement about the Board's Reshaping Report on 27th March last year and repeated on many occasions since then. These still stand.
The Government welcomes the comments of bodies such as the Scottish Council in reaching an assessment of particular proposals. In all Scottish cases my right hon. Friends the Minister of Transport and the Secretary of State for Scotland will be consulting together before decisions are taken.