asked the Minister of Transport whether he has yet authorised the construction of a new Victoria underground line.

No, Sir. I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the right hon. Member for Vauxhall (Mr. Strauss) on 31st May.

Is not this becoming a ludicrous situation? Is not the traffic in London getting worse? Obviously this line is eminently desirable from every point of view. Why cannot the Minister take a decision about it?

The real point is that this line has to be considered with the requirements of the railways as a whole. There is now a new Chairman of the B.T.C. and naturally there will be a reassessment.