§ Mr. Snapeasked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he has any plans to meet the chairman of the British Railways Board to discuss the proposed re-structuring of British Rail Engineering Limited with particular regard to the implications for British Rail as future maintenance of railway rolling stock is concerned;
(2) if he plans to meet the chairman of British Rail Engineering Limited to discuss the implications of the proposed restructuring of British Rail Engineering Limited with particular regard to any possible redundancies arising from those proposals;
(3) if he has any plans to visit the British Rail Engineering Limited workshops at Eastleigh, Wolverton, Glasgow and Doncaster in the light of the proposed restructuring of British Rail Engineering Limited;
(4) if he is satisfied that British Rail Engineering Limited will have the resources to tender for the construction of new railway vehicles arising from Her 364W Majesty's Government's decision to allow the construction of the Channel fixed link and particularly in the light of British Rail Engineering Limited's proposed reconstruction.
§ Mr. David MitchellThe British Railways Board has been reviewing the whole of its repair and maintenance arrangements, including the future of BREL, and the chairman of the board is keeping us in touch with progress. The board is confident that the new maintenance arrangements will improve efficiency within the railways and that restructuring BREL will help make the company more competive in seeking future orders, including those relating to the Channel tunnel. The implications of the restructuring for individual BREL workshops are management matters for the board and BREL, and these details are now being worked out. I have visited all the BREL workshops since 1983; I have no immediate plans for further visits.