asked the Minister of Transport what efforts have been made to encourage the greater use of the waterways rather than roads and railways for the transportation of both raw materials and manufactured goods.

The Government's policy is that each mode of transport should carry the traffic for which it is best suited. Nevertheless, I am keen to encourage the development of waterway transport wherever it is commercially viable, and am keeping in close touch on this subject with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, who has primary responsibility for the canal network.