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Losses Due to Transfer of Traffic from Rail to Road
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9. Clause 13 provides that, in order to enable him to decide the amount which should be paid to the railways from the Transport Fund in respect of losses due to the transfer of traffic from rail to road, the Minister should obtain an estimate of such losses from the permanent members of the Transport Tribunal. Under sub- section (4) of Clause 13, however, the Minister has power to reduce the estimate (and hence the amount to be paid to the railways in respect of these losses) if, in his opinion, the Tribunal have not made sufficient allowance for economies which the railways might have made as a result of the loss of traffic to road.
Re-organisation of the Railways
10. Clause 15 provides that, within twelve months of the passing of the Act, the Commission shall prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme for the re- organisation of the railways. The scheme-making powers embodied in the Clause are very wide and would permit the setting up of largely autonomous regional railway authorities. Under subsection (7), however, the general financial control and control over charges is reserved to the Commission. Subsection (8) provides that there shall be a separate authority for the whole of Scotland, but such an authority would be responsible to the Commission. The Committee are satisfied that Scottish railways must continue to form part of the Commission's system and that it would be impracticable to go further than do the provisions of the Clause in the direction of separation. Clause 16 provides that, before approving that part of the Commission's scheme which relates to Scotland, the Minister should consult the Secretary of State for Scotland, and this should make it abundantly clear that peculiarly Scottish interests will receive full consideration.
Charges Schemes
11. Clause 19 is designed (in accordance with paragraph 14 of the White Paper) to ensure that greater latitude is given to the Commission in charges schemes to vary their charges, so as to enable the railways to quote rates competitive with road transport. The schemes are required to provide for maximum charges, below which it will be open to the Commission to quote. The schemes are also required Clause 19 (2) (d)—to contain provisions for preventing the Commission from making "unduly low " charges. Where other providers of transport think that unduly low charges will not be adequately prevented in this way, they have a right of objection to the Transport Tribunal-Clause 19 (5) and the Third Schedule. The Commission do not like this, and we ourselves have our doubts about the Clause in its present form. It would be unfair if the railways with their great financial resources, could resort in particular localities to deliberate undercutting designed to kill competition. On the other hand, a Bill with the object of improving and cheapening transport generally ought not to appear to prohibit reductions in charges. We propose to give further thought to the matter, but in the meantime I feel bound to draw the attention of my colleagues to it.
Duties and Composition of the Commission
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12. The duties of the Commission are re-defined in Clause 22 (1). They are no longer to have the duty of providing." an efficient, adequate, economical and properly integrated system of public inland transport and port facilities within Great Britain." In future they are to be responsible for providing railway services for Great Britain, and for providing a co-ordinated system of passenger transport for London and such other transport and canal facilities as they think expedient. As to port facilities, they are restricted to the ports where they are at present operating. While the autonomous regional railway authorities would be responsible for running the railways, the Commission would be responsible for broad transport policy. This being so, it is desirable that the Bill should indicate that appointments to the Commission should be made on a basis which, while providing for the adequate inclusion of persons with experience in the manage- ment of railway and road transport both of passengers and of goods, should also include persons with experience of the transport requirements of agriculture, commerce and industry. It is the experience of Departments concerned with other nationalised industries that there are disadvantages in including on the central controlling authority persons specifically selected to represent particular interests.
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