asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport if his attention has been called to the resolutions passed by the county councils of Kent, Essex, and Hertfordshire, calling for the construction of a tunnel between Kent and Essex, both for foot passengers, railway, and vehicular road traffic; and whether, having regard to the congestion arising from London being the only channel for traffic, he will consult these county authorities, each of whom have large numbers of unemployed available, with a view to the construction of a tunnel?

No, Sir. I have not received any resolutions from the county councils referred to. The matter is not one in which I am in a position to take any action.

Can the hon. Gentleman refer me to the responsible Minister?

I do not think there is one.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport if he is aware that the railway companies are refusing to give cheap fares for workmen's annual excursions and, by insisting upon the present high charges, are depriving miners and other workmen of the benefit of their annual excursions; is he aware that the special rates charged in 1914 were, Cinderford to Blackpool, 5s. 9d return, and Cinderford to London, 6s. 7d return, whereas the rates demanded this year are 19s. 3d. and 25s. 9d.; and, in view of the reduced cost to the railway companies in wages, coal and other materials, will he make representations to the general managers of the railways concerned to reduce the charges so that the workmen may continue to have the benefit of their annual trips?

I understand that the companies are prepared to run day excursions between the points named at single fares for the return journey, which is the general basis adopted for excursion traffic to-day.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport whether he is aware of the serious condition of disrepair of most of the roads in the County of Durham, especially of those radiating from West Hartlepool; and what early assistance his department can render to the local road authorities?

I am aware that many of the principal roads in the County of Durham, including those in the neighbourhood of West Hartlepool, are in serious need of repair. A programme is under consideration by the county council for extensive works of reconstruction, upon which the representative of this Ministry has been consulted. I hope that this programme will shortly be put in hand, with the aid of grants from the Road Fund.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport whether his department has recently made special inquiries into the state of congestion on the omnibus and underground routes, particularly at those hours of the day when professional and Government department employees have to travel; whether his department is still making practical investigations; what report has been rendered; have the Government insisted on better facilities, and if so what; have the Government considered the diversion of freight traffic from passenger routes at certain hours of the day; and what action does His Majesty's Government intend to take, in view of the fact that £5,000,000 has been granted to the traffic combine under the Trades Facilities Act?

The subject of facilities for London traffic has been, as the hon. Member is aware, the subject of several general inquiries, and the whole question of the control of London traffic will no doubt be considered by the Royal Commission on London Government. The matter is under continual observation by the Departments concerned, and I would refer the hon. Member to my answer to his question last Monday, to which I can only add that freight traffic is not carried over underground routes during peak load hours.

In the event of a Royal Commission being appointed and reporting, will some attention be given to it or will it be kept in the archives of the Government the same as they have done for the last century with regard to London traffic?

That question is all hypothesis.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport if he is aware that the railway-rate for a ton of bar-iron from Low Moor to Liverpool, which is £1 11s. 4d., instead of 14s. 5d. in 1914, was fixed in September, 1920, and has not been reduced, notwithstanding the decrease in the price of coal and wages employed in the transport; and, seeing that such a high freight rate operates prejudicially to any improvement in the export trade of iron, whether he will explain the reason for the delay that takes place in the reduction of the rates?

I understand that the rates for a 1-ton lot would be as stated in the first part of the question, and as regards the latter part I would refer the hon. Member to my reply of the 1st instant. He will be aware no doubt that within the last few days the companies have agreed to further modifications in charges for certain classes of traffic to come into operation on the 22nd instant.

Is the Minister satisfied with these reductions which were published last Saturday, and in a case like this, where a high charge has continued for a long time after expenses have fallen, should they not discount any future fall which is likely to take place and moderate the charges?

The matter is one in which the Minister is unable to take any effective action. It lies with the railway companies, subject to a public right of appeal, to fix the charges.