§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the current financial targets and limits set by him which apply to Network SouthEast and the assumptions as to the increase in passenger fares made in connection with their plans for future revenue and capital expenditure.
§ Mr. PortilloFor 1989–90 the British Railways Board's external financing limit is now £635 million. The PSO cash limit is, at present, £496 million. The EFL applies to BR as a whole and the PSO limit to supported sectors. They are not broken down by sector.
In the medium term, the board has set Network SouthEast the objective of reducing its grant requirement to zero in 1992–93. This was endorsed by my right hon. Friend in his letter to Sir Robert Reid of 20 December, which set out BR's objectives for the next three years. Over the same period, planned investment will amount to £1.2 billion—an increase of 30 per cent. in real terms over the previous three-year period. According to BR's own plans, on which the medium-term objectives are based, fares on NSE are likely to rise by less than 10 per cent. in real terms over the next three years.