Oral Answers to Questions — Environment – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 5 December 1973.
Mr Willie Hamilton
, Fife West
12:00,
5 December 1973
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to produce his statement on the future of British Railways.
Mr John Peyton
, Yeovil
I did so on 28th November.
Mr Willie Hamilton
, Fife West
Does the Minister recollect that in that statement he made no specific reference to the situation in Scotland? Can he now take the opportunity of spelling out exactly the investment programme improvements for Scotland? In particular, will he give assurances that there will be increased electrification in the central belt and on the main line to Inverness and Aberdeen, in view of the very great increase in freight traffic which is likely to result from the acceleration of the North Sea oil programme?
Mr John Peyton
, Yeovil
I do not think that the hon. Gentleman has any ground for suggesting that Scotland is being badly treated. Indeed, he did not do so. The investment figures which I announced the other day were global figures and it will be for British Rail to split them up. Substantial work is going on in Scotland, and I have a note that the Hamilton loopline is now being electrified. No doubt the hon. Gentleman will take full credit for that.
Mr John Osborn
, Sheffield, Hallam
Will my right hon. Friend indicate when he will publish a white paper on transport policy, including the future of British Rail? Will he indicate in that White Paper the work of the British Rail Research Station at Derby and of the Transport and Road Research Station at Bracknell on new transportation systems to take the traffic off the roads and put it on the tracks of existing railways?
Mr John Peyton
, Yeovil
I hope that the white paper will be ready before the end of the year. I should like to have a look at the other matters which my hon. Friend has raised.
Mr Fred Mulley
, Sheffield Park
Can the Minister now tell us when he expects that British Rail will publish a breakdown of the details contained in his global statement of last week? Secondly, can he indicate when the Bill will be published to give statutory effect to the proposed financial changes in the structure of British Rail?
Mr John Peyton
, Yeovil
The first part of the right hon. Gentleman's question is a matter for British Rail. As regards the second part, I hope that the Bill will be published before the House rises for Christmas.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
