Oral Answers to Questions — Transport – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 9 Chwefror 1966.
Mr Charles Mapp
, Oldham East
12:00,
9 Chwefror 1966
asked the Minister of Transport when the studies will be concluded of track and policing costs of road and rail transport and of the support costs to air transport operating on routes within Great Britain.
Mrs Barbara Castle
, Blackburn
My Department's current studies of road and rail transport costs and demand are comprehensive and will take a considerable time to complete, but I expect some preliminary results early this summer.
Mr Charles Mapp
, Oldham East
Is my right hon. Friend aware of the three studies that have already taken place on this subject, one of which was conducted by her own Ministry? Is she further aware that they were all in conflict with each other? Could we now have an authoritative study with the results made available to us even before, if possible, publication of her white paper on general policy—which itself should be as soon as possible?
Mrs Barbara Castle
, Blackburn
I assure my hon. Friend that he will be able to have the results of what will be a completely reliable study. But, as I have said, I do not think these results will be ready before the early summer. I have been under pressure from the House to produce the white paper before that.
Mr Walter Monslow
, Barrow-in-Furness
Since the railways are an integral part of the economic life of the nation, should not the construction, maintenance and policing of the railways be placed to the Defence Estimates?
Mrs Barbara Castle
, Blackburn
I agree with the first part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question, but I am not sure that his suggestion in the second part would be acceptable.
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
