Port of London (Financial Assistance) Bill

Part of Business of the House – in the House of Commons at 11:30 pm on 6 May 1980.

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Photo of Mr Eric Ogden Mr Eric Ogden , Liverpool, West Derby 11:30, 6 May 1980

I support my hon. Friend the Member for Newham, South (Mr. Spearing) and wish to speak specifically to amendment No. 11, dealing with the phrase: other than disposal of land. I wish to make one comment and one suggestion and to ask for more information about the attitude of the Department towards the disposal of land.

Does the Minister appreciate that one of the major changes in nearly all ports over the past 10 years has been the change in the relationship between the amount of wharfage, or berthage—the total distance available up against which a ship could come—and the storing and docking faci- lities at the side of those berths? In the past we had piers inside enclosed spaces in our ports and the distance of wharfage against which a ship could come compared with the amount of space at the side was much the same. Ships required storage and handling facilities, cargo sheds and so on, but they were comparatively close together. One of the results of containerisation has been that the amount of space against which ships are allowed to berth needs to be much less because the turnround of ships is much greater. At the same time, the amount of land needed at the side of the berths has increased greatly.

We have seen the infilling of some docks to provide standing space for containers and for handling facilities. Land use has changed considerably within the dock structure. Even though the Minister is not willing to intervene directly in day-to-day management, I should like to know what is the Department's policy about land disposal. I put this point to him, which should be entirely in accordance with good, wholehearted, old-fashioned Tory Party philosophy. There is a finite amount of land in these islands. There is very little variation as between one part of the country and another. We have no great Zuider Zee to call upon. Land is scarce. I hope that it is departmental policy, while it may lease, and encourage people to go into partnership, to discourage the sale of land by public authorities. That it should be used by others, and under the control of others to a degree, is permissible, but I hope that the Minister will agree that the ultimate ownership of land ought to be within public authorities so that there is some public responsibility. I should appreciate it if the Minister would tell me what his policies are.