Hint from Howell on LT 's future
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A CLEAR HINT that the Government wants to take control of London Transport away from the Greater London Council has come from Transport Secretary David Howell.
In reply to the Commons transport select committee report on transport in London, Mr Howell made clear his despair at the policies being pursued by the Labour administration at the GLC.
But he failed to give any clear indication of whether the Government intended to implement the committee's main recommendation of a new Metropolitan Transport Authority. This was because the Government was still considering the wider ramifications.
Describing the committee's report as "imaginative and authoritative," Mr Howell said the Government said that London's internal transport arrangements were a matter of national importance. A balanced view had to be taken of the need for movement on the roads as well as by public transport.
The Government also agreed that the important role of capital investment to attract more passengers should not be damaged by excessive subsidy.
Mr Howell said that substantial progress had been made in providing enough cash for London's transport needs.
"What has been lacking is the means to ensure that proper use is made of these resources. The Government considers that the scope for capital expenditure to improve London's transport system would be even greater were the GLC to modify its cur rent preoccupation with high revenue subsidies for public transport, and its persistent failure to get a grip on costs," he said.
There was some sympathy for the committee's demands for better forward planning of capital investment in the transport system.