§ Mr. Gareth Wardellasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in the Official Report, the studies that his Department is funding into the deregulation of bus services, including details of which geographical areas are being considered.
§ Mr. David MitchellWe are sponsoring an extensive programme of research into the deregulation of bus services. This includes a series of studies of particular areas: Nottingham; the Medway Towns; Blackburn; West Wiltshire; and also (jointly with the Welsh Office) West Glamorgan, and parts of Powys and Clwyd. These studies are all being conducted by consultants on behalf of the Transport and Road Research Laboratory. In addition, the laboratory is conducting studies with the passenger transport executives in Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, West Midlands and Strathclyde. Similar studies are being financed by the Scottish Office, with a contribution from my Department.