When politicians of both parties star agreeing on a policy
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which has not heal formulated in public it is safe to assume that significant changes may be just around the corner. This seems to be the case at present with the future of the monolithic Department of the Environment.
When this giant Government department was created the transport industry's voice lost ground and the Minister of Transport -as he then was — lost his Cabinet seat. It is reasonable to argue that priorities for transport have tended to be swept aside by the more politically voluble claims of housing and social services.
Now there are signs that things may be about , to change. Interviewed in C I/ recently (March 21) Marcus Fox, the Tories' new Transport Shadow, hinted that some future Conservative administration might split up the DoE and put its Minister back in the Cabinet. Last week Leslie Huckfield — leftwing architect of a Labour study group's transport policy document — expressed similar views. Needless to say he had different reasons.
Mr Huckfield is anxious to see extensive public ownership in road transport. He feels that one of the best ways of furthering this -together with improving co-ordination and integration in both freight and passenger transport -is by the formation of a National Transport Authority.
Though he has refrained from say ing this, it is obvious that an NTA set up along the lines he envisages would essentially supersede the present Ministry for Transport. Road transport operators should welcome the idea of a Ministry of Transport — under whatever name — as an independent being. It should be able to fight for a bigger slice of the public purse and that must be welcome. Of course, if Mr Huckfield has his way, that additional finance would be used for buying up road haulage companies. And that would be not at all welcome.