§ Mr. Baldryasked the Secretary of State for Transport what increase there has been in real terms in support from the Government for public transport in the last 10 years.
§ Mr. RidleyFigures for support for which my Department is responsible now are not strictly comparable with those for 10 years ago because there have been significant changes in the financial support arrangements for public transport. The scheme of support to British Rail changed at the beginning a 1975 and was accompanied by a financial reconstruction.
The scheme for the payment of new bus grants served its purpose and was phased out over a period ending on 1 April 1984. While support for British Rail is lower now than 10 years ago, the cost of local authority support to public transport has been increased by the deliberate fare-cutting and freeze policies followed by the GLC and some other metropolitan countries.
The figures are: