asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many cases of legal proceedings have been instituted by private citizens or by organisations against his Department in each single year since 1979; what was the nature of the cases which the plantiffs presented; and what proportion of them were ruled in favour of the plantiff by the appropriate judge.

Legal proceedings have been instituted against the Department on a wide variety of subject matters, including claims for damages, challenges to administrative decisions, appeals against licensing decisions and references on matters of compensation, as well as many other topics. I therefore regret that the information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.