§ Mr. Burtasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will relax Government controls over trust port undertakings.
§ Mr. David MitchellMany local enactments governing the operation of trust port undertakings contain ministerial controls and restrictions on their borrowings and related matters. These controls take no consistent form and are no longer appropriate to present day circumstances. Now that most ports (other than local authority undertakings) obtain capital for port investment from the private market, I intend this Session to seek Parliament's approval to the removal of these controls. This will allow the trust ports greater freedom of action, though statutory limits on their total borrowings will remain.
Trust ports will then be on the same footing as private sector ports.