§ Mr. Bidwellasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made towards ending the practice of franchise systems for taxis at British Rail stations following representations about this matter to British Rail by the Office of Fair Trading.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherBritish Rail is carrying out a review of all franchise systems at its stations, with a view to introducing, where practicable, open systems that would allow any licensed taxi to ply for trade. I understand that in some cases a reasonable fee might be charged by British Rail.