Minister's First Question Day-140
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FROM OUR PARLIAMENTARY CORRESPONDENT
1MRS. BARBARA CASTLE had her first
experience of answering Commons questions as Transport Minister this week. She and her two parliamentary secretaries (Mr. Stephen Swingler and Mr. John Morris) faced about 140 questions dealing with every aspect of her department's work.
And the only positive news she was able to give in answer to queries on the more important topics was the effect which the latest financial restrictions will have on roads—a reduction in Exchequer spending of about Om. this year and £12m.in 1966-67,
Dealing with Liner Trains, she said that in the week ending 28th January, 93 containers loaded with commercial traffic had been carried by these trains but none of the loads had been brought to the terminals by private hauliers.
Later Mr. Morris noted that there were proposals for Liner Train terminals at London, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester, mainly serving domestic traffic but available also for imports and exports. At all the major general cargo ports, he added, the volume and nature of container traffic was expected to be such that special rail facilities and services would be required later.
Mr. Swingler revealed that Mrs. Castle is to consider with the interests involved the possibility of a different form of notice when less important defects are found on a vehicle.
He said this after Mr. Geoffrey Wilson (Tory, Truro) had complained that the form GV9, the prohibition notice, gave a false impression of the number of dangerous vehicles; he asked for another form for use when defects did not cause immediate danger.
Mrs. Castle told MPs that she expected to receive early this summer some preliminary results from her department's current studies of road and rail transport costs and demands. The studies as a whole, she said, were comprehensive and would take a considerable time to complete.
Mr. Swingler looked forward to a report from the working party on vehicle lights "very shortly". He gave this news after MPs had complained about dim and too-lowly placed lights on lorries.
Questioned about switching to driving on the right of the road, Mrs. Castle said that £50m. would be needed for such items as the necessary roadwork and signs.
Mrs. Castle said that she expected to receive the report of the West Midlands Transport Survey towards the end of this year.
She also reported on the discussions between the Ministry and local authority representatives following the report on the Special Studies of Rural Transport and local enquiries. The local authority associations, she said, had supported the case for financial assistance for bus operators running rural services. The bus industry as a whole had already been helped by taxation relief and she was considering what other steps were needed.
Ideas for rural areas where demand did not justify a regular bus service were also discussed, such as the development of voluntary car-pool schemes to meet special needs. These were to be examined in detail by working parties.