§ Mr. Staintonasked the Minister of Transport whether he will introduce legislation to extend the power and function of transport users' consultative committees in relation to proposed rail closures, designed also to improve their public accountability, in view of the new phase of rail closures which has been 101W reached involving major lines and large geographic areas.
§ Mr. Tom FraserNo. I am satisfied that the role of the consultative committees in the assessment of passenger closure proposals is the right one. The102W present legislation, coupled with the improved procedures I have introduced, provide me with all the evidence I need for reaching decisions on every type of proposal. If, however, I find at any time that further improvements are called for I shall certainly introduce them.