§ Mr. Snapeasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he intends to increase section 8 grants for railway sidings in line with the recommendations of the Armitage committee report or whether he has rejected these recommendations.
§ Mr. David HowellAs set out in the recent White Paper "Lorries, People and the Environment", (Cmnd. 8439), the rail freight facility grant scheme will be continued. The Government have, of course, considered the Armitage recommendation to increase the rate of grant. We have, however, seen no evidence that such an increase would result in any additional suitable proposals. The Government believe that the present level of grants makes the best use of the resources which can be made available for this purpose. But I am prepared to look at any new evidence.