§ 38. Mr. McAvoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the total amount paid to Strathclyde regional council by the Scottish Office in respect of section 20 payments for rail services in each of the past five years.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonPayments for rail services in Strathclyde under section 20 of the Transport Act 1968 are the responsibility of the Strathclyde passenger transport executive under an agreement made with British Rail. Although payments to Strathclyde regional council are not made specifically in respect of rail services, Scottish Office support to the council through aggregate external finance takes full account of the passenger transport executive's section 20 expenditure.