§ Mr. Pawseyasked the Secretary of State for Transport if, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth of Monday 16 June, he will give details of the number of occasions the railway inspectorate has drawn British Rail's attention to debris on, or adjacent to, British Rail tracks; what was the type of debris most frequently found; and which were the three regions most frequently referred to.
§ Mr. David MitchellA full answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost since it would involve searching the inspectorate's records from the formation of British Railways. However, during the past three years the inspecting officers have drawn attention, in writing, to the need to clear away unwanted material from alongside the lines on 22 occasions. The debris most frequently referred to was railway material awaiting collection after engineering work, although rubbish thrown on to the lineside by the public also featured. It would be invidious to single out particular regions for BR since the number of references reflects the number of inspections made, and these vary. If the hon. Member has a specific concern, I suggest he writes to me.