asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the increasing congestion of roads in the counties of Somerset and Dorset, particularly in the Poole area, he will withhold his consent from the proposed closure of the Somerset and Dorset railway line.

I am awaiting a further report from the Transport Users' Consultative Committee for the South Eastern Area. Until I have examined it along with the other factors, including the traffic implications, I cannot say what my decision will be.