§ Mr. Hugh Jenkinsasked the Minister of Transport when the first meeting of her 306W Transport Co-ordinating Council for London will take place; what the Council's functions will be; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mrs. CastleThe Council which will meet for the first time tomorrow, brings together the main authorities responsible for public transport, roads and traffic in London—my Department, the Greater London Council, the London Transport Board, the British Railways Board and the London Boroughs, together with the Trades Union Congress. Its functions will be to co-ordinate, within the present statutory framework, those activities of the various authorities in which concerted action is necessary if we are to improve overall the quality, speed and convenience of London's transport facilities.
The Council will discuss tomorrow how best to discharge its task. I envisage that machinery might be set up to deal with specific major aspects of the problem—investment in public transport; investment in roads; interchanges between different forms of transport (including car parks at stations); and the co-ordination of transport operations and traffic management measures. Existing co-operation between the authorities (including the statutory arrangements for co-operation between London Transport and British Railways) will thus be developed and extended. We shall be able by these means to plan a concerted attack on the problems of transport, and especially public transport, in London.