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What Manchester does.

3rd July 1970, Page 27
3rd July 1970
Page 27
Page 27, 3rd July 1970 — What Manchester does.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

If the SELNEC Passenger Transport Authority is able to stick to its guns, a headlong rush into subsidies and local rate precepts will be averted. In its policy statement to the Minister of Transport the PTA is adamant that, in general, services must pay for themselves, or be supported by specific funds provided for a clearly defined purpose. The policy is about as specific as one could expect from such a body in the circumstances.

While it will be interesting to see whether the other PTAs take the same line, the real test for them all will come when they have to assume responsibility for local railway finances. It is significant that the statistics given in the SELNEC report show that, while British Railways turnover for services in the area amounted to £2.3m in 1969-1970, no less than E4.6m social grant has to be added to this to reflect the true overall situation. And this is in a PTA whose assets total about £22m and annual turnover £18m.

Lack of enthusiasm in the PTAs about shouldering the railway burdens could well lead to an attempt to persuade the new Conservative Government to lighten these local legacies. The extent to which the Government is likely to respond to such a request must be judged against the knowledge that, in the Ministry of Transport at least, the new incumbents have no greater love for the PTA idea than at the time of the Transport Bill. There are still strong fears that, however enterprising the Executives may be, the PTAs are fundamentally inclined towards bureaucracy. Indeed, in the SELNEC report's vision of its part in bringing a sense of regional community to the area, one can detect a whiff of those delusions of grandeur which seem to flourish in local politics, eventually at the expense of the ratepayer's pocket.


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