§ Mr. KaufmanTo ask the secretary of state for Transport if he will make it his policy to dismiss the chairman of London Underground unless London 163W Underground escalators at (a) St. John's Wood underground station and (b) elsewhere are in full working order by Saturday 15 December.
§ Mr. FreemanNo. A year ago we set London Underground Ltd. (LUL) a target of improved escalator availability, and LUL has made encouraging progress towards meeting that target. The target my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Transport set LUL in December 1989 was to increase overall escalator availability on the underground from 78 per cent.—1988–89 average—to 86 per cent. by 31 March 1992. Performance figures up to mid-September show LUL has achieved 84 per cent. I suggest the hon. Member discusses the availability of particular escalators with London Underground Ltd.