§ Mr. Barry Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many £5 million-plus schemes for improvement to any section of the Welsh rail network have been approved by the British Railways Board in each year since 1979; and how many such schemes have been approved each year since 1979 for (a) England and (b) Scotland.
§ Mr. RidleyMuch investment benefits the railway system generally, or extensive parts of it, rather than particular areas. And most projects are less than £5 million in size. Of the 44 projects over £5 million approved by the BRB since 1979, 18 were not associated with a particular part of the United Kingdom. Only one project—Chester area resignalling—had specific benefits that extended into a part of Wales. The figures requested for England and Scotland are as follows:
England Scotland 1979 3 — 1980 *2 — 1981 1 — 1982 2 — 1983 6 3 1984 8 1 * Includes Chester area resignalling scheme.