§ Lord Underhillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have set up the review of the safety of automatic open level crossings announced on 28th July.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Transport (Lord Brabazon of Tara)I am glad to inform the House that my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport has appointed Professor Peter Stott to carry out this review. Professor Stott is Nash Professor of Civil Engineering at King's College, London. His terms of reference will be, "to review the safety record of automatic open level crossings, to consider the lessons gained from the experience so far and to make recommendations to the Secretary of State for Transport". The Government will publish Professor Stott's report in due course. Meanwhile, the position remains that the Chief Inspecting Officer of Railways will not recommend approval of further crossings of this kind, pending consideration of Professor Stott's recommendations.