asked the Prime Minister whether he will move to appoint a Select Committee to consider the advisability of introducing equalised rates of freight charges for railway transport as a means of encouraging the economic rehabilitation of the countryside and the redistribution of industry?

The present system of railway rates provides for scales of charges per ton per mile which taper as the distance increases, and also for the application of exceptional rates where circumstances warrant them. While I do not think that it would be opportune or advisable to appoint a Select Committee to consider the introduction of flat rates irrespective of distance, the effect of railway charges upon the distribution of our economic activities will be borne in mind by His Majesty's Government in their consideration of future transport policy.