§ 25. Mr. Bryant Godman Irvineasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to alter the law so that more flexible transport schemes will be possible in rural areas.
§ Dr. GilbertMy right hon. Friend, in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales, intends to promote a number of experimental schemes in Great Britain. These will test on the ground what can be done to help rural communities within the public service vehicle licensing code. A short Bill will also be introduced, when an opportunity presents itself, to provide for modest relaxation of licensing for a limited period within the areas of these schemes.
The consultations with interested parties on rural transport have confirmed that there is no general agreement about the extent to which alterations to the present licensing code would offer rural communities an assurance of an improvement in transport provision.
What is now needed is a careful assessment on the ground of what can be done in rural communities, both within the existing licensing code and through modest relaxations of that code. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales, therefore intends to promote experimental projects in three or four selected areas in England, Scotland and Wales where rural transport problems exist. The design of these projects will be the responsibility of working groups which will be set up under the chairmanship of officials from the appropriate Departments, and will include representatives from the local authorities, the bus operators, the unions and other bodies concerned. The groups will act under the general guidance of a steering committee which will embrace similar representation.
The experimental areas will be determined after consultations through the machinery of the steering committee.
614WWithin these areas, we shall launch a number of demonstration projects in order to test solutions which are within the existing law. It is also the Government's intention to introduce a short Bill, when an opportunity presents itself, to allow the effects of modest relaxations to the licensing code to be tested under controlled conditions inside the selected areas.
The Government hope that these experiments will provide the evidence which has so far been lacking on how to meet rural transport needs effectively, whilst safeguarding the essential interests of established public transport operators and their staff.
§ 54. Mr. Raphael Tuckasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to move traffic from road to rail and water and to develop public transport to make the country less dependent on the private car.
§ Dr. GilbertBoth these matters are being carefully studied in the current review of transport policy. It is already the Government's policy to encourage transfer of freight from road to rail and water where this is sensible on economic and environmental grounds. The Railways Act 1974 included measures designed to encourage transfer of suitable freight to rail. In the year 1975–76 the Government are contributing over £450 million to the support of public passenger transport.