§ Mr. Gouldasked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will make a statement on the progress of the consultations being undertaken by the Pilotage Commission on the proposals to reduce the surplus of United Kingdom marine pilotage by some 40 per cent.;
(2) when he expects the Pilotage Commission to report to him its findings about the reactions of various parts of the shipping industry to the Samuel Montagu report on aspects of pilotage;
(3) if he will list all the bodies and individuals who have been consulted by the Pilotage Commission so far on the findings of the Samuel Montagu report on aspects of pilotage; and if he will also list those further bodies and individuals the commission still intends to consult.
§ Mr. David MitchellIn August last Samuel Montagu and Co. Ltd. were invited by the Under-Secretary of State for Trade to advise him on the financial implications of proposals put to him by the Pilotage Commission for paying compensation to surplus pilots; and in March, after considering the Samuel Montagu recommendations, he asked the commission to take the matter forward as478W quickly as possible with representatives of the interests concerned, in order to establish whether the recommendations provided a basis for agreement.