§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list each of the investment plans for British Rail, which have had to be submitted to Her Majesty's Government for approval since May 1979, where the application was either rejected or withdrawn, distinguishing which were withdrawn and which rejected, and showing the cost in cash terms in each case.
§ Mr. RidleyThe information is as follows:
bus operators supply the number of passenger journeys made on their own services to the Department but on the understanding that only aggregate data are published. Total passenger journeys for these operators for the last eleven years are given in table 2.12 in "Transport Statistics Great Britain 1973–1983" HMSO, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library.
§ Mr. Hanleyasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has approved London Buses Ltd's proposal for further new bus purchases in 1986 and 1987.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI have approved the purchase of 260 new buses in 1986–87 at a cost of £16 million. The new buses will be the first in London Buses' fleet to be 159W equipped with new design features which will speed up boarding times and improve access for elderly and disabled people. This decision is another example of the Government's commitment to investment by LRT and their subsidiaries in a more modern and efficient public transport system.
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to total spending on public transport by each passenger transport executive and each municipal bus service, for each of the last 10 years, showing the percentage contribution towards the total provided by central Government, in each year in each case.
§ Mr. RidleyThe following tables show the information readily available:
(a) expenditure by Metropolitan County Councils on revenue grants to PTEs, and by district councils with their own bus services on the running of those services, in the period between 1979–80 and 1983–84; and
(b) capital expenditure in respect of PTEs and municipal bus undertakings in the period between 1976-77 and 1983-84.
Direct contributions to these undertakings from central Government comprise fuel duty rebate and new bus grants,
B.—Passenger Transport Capital Expenditure £ million (cash) 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 Municipal Undertakings* n/a n/a 14.8 12.9 13.3 14.3 17.2 19.2 18.1 †14.2 PTE: Greater Manchester Council — — — — — — — 12.6 12.8 17.3 Merseyside — — — — — — — 8.7 7.8 12.1 South Yorkshire County Council — — — — — — — 14.3 11.3 11.2 West Yorkshire County Council — — — — — — — 7.2 8.6 3.8 West Midlands — — — — — — — 11.7 21.0 14.9 Tyne and Wear — — — — — — — 27.4 19.3 10.1 Total: PTE n/a n/a 60.5 80.2 92.3 99.3 101.0 81.9 80.9 74.4 *Include direct expenditure on infrastructure by local authorities. † Provisional.