Mr. Ted Fletcherasked the President of the Board of Trade (1) what representations have been made to him by the Teesside Airport Joint Committee on the subsidisation of local essential services as recommended by the Edwards Committee; and what reply he has sent;
(2) whether, in view of the proposal to withdraw scheduled services from Teesside Airport, he will now make an announcement of the action that the Government propose to take to implement the recommendations contained in Chapter 14 of the Edwards Report.
§ Mr. William RodgersI share my hon. Friend's concern although the airline concerned has said that it does not intend to act precipitately. The recommendations of the Edwards Report on regional air services are being considered and the Government's views on this will be set out in our White Paper.