§ Mr. HoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his policy that any reorganisation of Scottish local government should provide a structure to maintain the integrity of local rail services; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 14 December 1992]: Regional and islands authorities are required to secure the provision of such passenger transport services as they consider appropriate where these are not being provided by the market and to formulate general policies as to the services they propose to secure. There are no plans at present to change this. The Government's consultation paper on local government reform invites views on the most appropriate arrangements for enabling the provision of public transport services in Scotland.