asked the Minister of Transport the aggregate sum of money represented by past and current licences issued by his Department for building, reconstructing, repairing or decorating accommodation for the office staff of the British Transport Commission and its various executives.

So far as it can be separately assessed, expenditure on building and reconstruction of offices mainly of an administrative nature by the Commission and its Executives, has been authorised to the amount of £697,871. This figure includes expenditure on offices of the Executives throughout the country. The figures include repairs and decoration incidental to the building or reconstruction, but other repairs and decoration by these undertakings do not require authorisation or licensing.

asked the Minister of Transport what undertakings were given by his Department with regard to their employment and pension rights when their terms of office expire in 1952 to the whole-time members of the Railway and London Transport Executives, who were previously chief officers of the main line railways and the London Passenger Transport Board, respectively.

There are seven such members in the two Executives named. In the case of four of them, who will not reach the age of 60 this year, their terms of appointment provided that if they were not reappointed, or offered reasonably comparable employment, they would be entitled to such compensation as may be payable under the Regulations made under Section 101 of the Transport Act, 1947.

In the case of the other three members, their terms of appointment provided that their appointment as members did not deprive them of any right to compensation which they may have under the Regulations.

Does that reply mean that in the event of these officers being re-employed by their former undertaking, those who have been promoted to follow them will be displaced?

The hon. Member should study my reply, which was a little complicated, I admit. I shall be grateful if he will do so.

asked the Minister of Transport what recommendations he has had from the Transport Users Consultative Committee for Scotland during 1951.

Under the Transport Act minutes and recommendations of the Transport Users Consultative Committee for Scotland, and those for area committees are required to be sent to the Central Transport Consultative Committee for Great Britain, and not to me.

The Central Committee pass on to me such recommendations of the other committees as they deem proper. They followed this course in the matter of proposed alterations in the Clyde steamer services which I had remitted to the Scottish Committee for consideration.

Is my hon. Friend satisfied that due attention is paid to those recommendations when eventually they reach either his Department or the Transport Commission?

It is a little difficult to give a categorical reply to that, except to say that there is no evidence that proper attention is not paid to them.

Is my hon. Friend aware that one of the recommendations made by this Committee was made by a Committee that had no representative on it of the Clyde area? I refer to the recommendation about the Clyde steamers.

I have noted that point.