HC Deb 08 December 1967 vol 755 cc401-3W
Mr. Leslie Huckfield

asked the Minister of Transport (1) if she will give a direction to the Transport Holding Company to ensure that the recently nationalised bus companies which were formerly part of the British Electric Traction group,

numbers and percentage by which the establishments of postmen are below strength.

Mr. Joseph Slater

remove all anti-Government and anti-Passenger Transport Authority stickers from their buses;

(2) if she will give a direction to the Transport Holding Company to ensure that the recently nationalised bus companies which were formerly part of the British Electric Traction group dissociate themselves completely from the British Omnibus Companies Public Relations Committee, and its campaign against her proposals for the creation of passenger transport authorities;

(3) if she will give a direction to the Transport Holding Company to ensure that the recently nationalised bus companies, which were formerly part of the British Electric Traction group, dissociate themselves completely from the Passenger Vehicle Operators Independence Committee campaign against the creation of passenger transport authorities;

(4) if she will now ensure, through a direction to the Transport Holding Company, that no staff at executive level of the recently nationalised bus companies which were formerly part of the British Electric Traction group, will continue to serve on the executive committee of the Passenger Vehicle Operators Independence Committee or any other action groups throughout the country formed to defeat her proposals for the creation of passenger transport authorities.

Mr. Swingler

Although the Transport Holding Company have reached agreement with the British Electric Traction Co. Ltd. on terms for the acquisition of their shares in the bus companies in the B.E.T. Group, the offer is conditional upon the enactment of the Transport Holding Company Bill to extend the borrowing powers of the Transport Holding Company which was introduced yesterday. Until this acquisition is completed the Transport Holding Company will not have a controlling interest in these companies. A direction would accordingly be inappropriate.

Mr. Leslie Huckfield

asked the Minister of Transport if she will give a direction to the Transport Holding Company to dissociate itself completely from the various political and anti-passenger transport authority campaigns now being conducted, in the same way that they have previously dissociated themselves from the Road Haulage Association's campaign against her new licensing proposals.

Mr. Swingler

As some of the Transport Holding Company's principal road haulage subsidiaries are special contract members of the Road Haulage Association, the Company thought they should make it clear they were not associated with the Road Haulage Association's campaign against certain aspects of the proposals for carriers' licensing. In the case of the Transport Holding Company bus companies, none in which they at present hold a controlling interest is in any way connected with the campaign concerning the proposals for Passenger Transport Authorities and a direction is therefore unnecessary. The position of the Transport Holding Company in relation to other bus companies in which they have an interest was explained in the Answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Renée Short) on 7th November.—[Vol. 753, c.104.]