§ Mr. Robert Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether, following the withdrawal of the Traffic Areas (Reorganisation) Order 1983, he will reverse his decision to close the Aberdeen traffic area office of his Department and re-open discussions with the aim of keeping this office open.
§ Mr. David HowellI do not propose to re-open my decision on the closure of the Scottish traffic area sub-office at Aberdeen. That decision was taken for sound managerial reasons and it will yield useful savings. I am sorry that the tradition of traffic area work in Aberdeen dating back to the Road Traffic Act 1930 should have to come to an end, but I am sure that at the expense of a very minor inconvenience to the people of the immediate area (which will do no more than put them in the same position240W as most of the rest of the country) we can provide a substantially more efficient service to the people of Scotland as a whole.
The closure is in no way connected with the withdrawal of the Traffic Areas (Reorganisation) Order 1983. That order was intended to deal with the boundaries of traffic areas in England and Wales, and a fresh order to make those changes will be presented soon.