THE WAYS AND COMMUNICATIONS BILL.
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The Amendments Introduced by the Standing Committee. Improvements Still Required to Make the Measure Really Satisfactory.
HE WAYS and Communications Bill has emerged from the committee stage in a somewhat amended form, although it is still open to considerable criticism, mainly on the ground that it confers highly autocratic powers upon the Minister. While the Bill was passing through its last stage it was very carefully watched by the Motor Legislation Committee whose -chairman, Mr. Joynson-Hicks, moved a very large number of amendments and pushed home some important points. This constitutes the first important piece of work to be done by the Committee and justifies the expenditure which the activity of the Committee has up to the present involved.
The first series of amendments, proposed in the
committee stage, aimed at cutting down the scope of the Bill, and, in our particular ease, at removing roads and road traffic from -the sphere of influence cf the new Ministry. After what had occurred during the second reading, the moving of any such amendment was very much a forlorn hope and -was only advisable on the tgrounds that it was the logical prelude to other action. The amendment to cut the roads and road traffic out of the Bill was, as expected, defeated by a large majority.
The next stage was the amendment to set up a rec;nnstituted Road Board. This would have had '
much the same effect as its'predecessor and was equally, doomed to failure. It was clear all along that the Government intended to absorb the Road Board in the new Ministry and any proposals to increase its powers were thus entirely unacceptable. At this stage, however, quite an important point was secured. An amendment was brought forward in favour of the classification of roads. It appeared that this was a subject with which the Minister-designate could not profess any great familiarity and, in the result, he promised that he would follow the advice of his advisers at the Road Board as regards this matter.
We may, therefore, take it that the new Ministry will classify roads and it is to be presumed that the grants which the Governmentmust -maketowards road improvement and maintenance will be based upon this classification. As yet there is no undertaking with regard to such grants, and this is one of " the matters in connection with which the Bill might well be amended at a later stage oit the lines that 50 per cent, of the cost of first-cla,ss roads and 25 per cent. of the cost of second-class roads should fall upon the National Exchequer.
Continuing in the order in which amendments were moved, the next proposal was one which fell in with the Government's policy. This was to the effect-that the Ministry should be responsible for paying half the salary and establishment charges of engineers and surveyors to local councils.
Now, omitting certain minor points, we arrive at the subject upon which all the most interesting discussions are focussed. This is the question of advisory torarnittees. The Governinent put forward proposals which the critics of the Bill regarded as being far, from adequate. Mr. Joynson-Hieks moved an amendment, as a result of which the Government proposals were defeated. A somewhat curious position was reached, inasmuch as the alternative proposals put forward from the other side were also defeated by a narrow margin. After a very prolonged discussion a new clause was finally agreed to. The provisions of this new clause are -as follow :— (1) For the purpose of giving advice and assistance to the Minister in connection with the exercise and performance of his powers and duties, the Minister shall set up a panel of experts, appointed from nominees, after consultation with the various undertakings and interests concerned of the various classes of undertakings affected by this Act, and of labour, trading interests, local authorities, and such other interests as he may deem desirable.
(2) Before exercising any of the powers under sub-section (1) (b) of section three of this Act, to the exercise of which the owners of the undertaking concerned object, or directing the establishment of new transport services by land and water, the Minister shall refer the matter to a committee selected by him from the said panel.
(The sub-section referred to above provides that the Minister may take possession of the whole or part of almost any transport undertaking, together with its plant.) (3) The advisory panel or any committee to whom any matter is referred under this section shall, before reporting or advising,, if they see fit, give public notice and permit any person affeeted or likely to be affected to place their views before them either orally or in writing.
The adoption of this clause would be, by far, the most important achievement of the opponents of the Bill in its original form. It remains to press the Government further in the desired direction during the Report stage. What we want to ensure is that the Minister shall he obliged to consult properly constituted Advisory Committees upon all important matters, such as the revision of fares or rates, the taking over of any going concern, or the establishment of services by the Minister.
The Question of Compensation.
It must be remembered that the Minister takes over the powers previously exercised by the Road Board. There is, of course, a provision that the Minister must pay compensation in respect of any loss incurred by any undertaking by reason of the exercise of his powers, but it is difficult to see how this system of compensation can possibly be apptied either to highway authorities or to the users of roads. Supposing that the Minister refuses to grant the necessary financial assistance to secure the proper reconstruction of the highways of the country, the users of those highways would certainly suffer loss and would equally certainly not be compensated.
It would be natural that the Minister in his endeavour to eliminate such claims would apply his funds wherever possible in such a way as to increase the railway revenue. It naturally follows that, if the money is so applied, concerns like the national highway system, which are not directly revenue earning undertakings' are extremely likely to be starved. When the Road Board was established in 1909 it was recognized that local authorities needed Material assistance in order to enable them to improve_ their reads and to bring them up to a proper stahdard to meet modern conditions. The Road Improvement Grant was created for this purpose and represented the proceeds at the increased taxation of motor vehicles and their fuel.
Before the war, considerable progress had been made with the proposals for making grants to local authorities in the form of maintenance contributions. For this purpose the classification if roads had been recommended, the idea being that the Treasury should pay 50 per cent, of the cost of 'maintenance of Class 1 Roads and 25 per cent. of the cost of maintenance of Class 2 Roads.
It is clear then that the position is such as to demand very considerable financial assistance for the highway system of the country, and it is obviously unsafe to depend for such assistance solely upon the goodwill of an individual whose political reputation is likely to be jeopardized if he does not employ his funds mainly for the immediate purpose of increasing the revenue-earning capacity of railways and kindred undertakings.
An Advisory Committee on Roads Imperative.
It is, therefore, imperative that' the Minister should be assisted by an. advisory committee comprising representatives of highway authorities responsible for the maintenance of roads; • representatives of the actual users of the roads (who by special taxation are responsible for meeting so large a share of the expense of road improvements) and representatives of the general interests which are affected by the economy, or lack of economy, of road transport.
It should be compulsory upon the Minister to congult this advispry committee before exercising any of the powers formerly possessed by the Road Board, before classifying roads and before establishing transport services on the roads. The advisory committee should not merely advise and then leave the matter entirely in the hands of the Minister, although the latter most necessarily have the final word. In addition the committee should make a report annually to addition, and should publish interim reports at its discretion so that, if its advice is not accepted, the nature of that advice shall be made known to the public, who will have an opportunity of judging between the Minister and the Committee.
Furthermore, this advisory committee should be given initiative, entitling it to advise and report, not only when invited, but to do so when it feels that advice or report is necessary. By such means the interest of the general public, every member of which is really concerned in the economy of road transport, may' be reasonably safeguarded, but if, on the other hand, the Minister has it practically in his own power' to decide whether the committee shall advise him or not and the nature of the advice given—whether accepted or refused—is not made public, then we shall inevitably find that, sooner or later, the considerations which would tend to induce the Minister to feed the revenue-earning undertakings at the expense of the roads will begin to carry undue weight..
This article is admittedly incomplete, inasmuch as it does not deal with all the amendments introduced at the committee stage. The writer has thought it advisable to concentrate upon what he believes to be the main point at issue. It would be a waste of time at this juncture to oppose the whole principle of the Bill. The Government is prepared to stand or fall by it, and it will certainly go through. The real purpose of the serious opposition thet it has already encountered will have been properly served if,. in the end, safeguards are introduced to counteract the bad tendencies observable in the measure as originally framed and atill existing now that it has passed through the Committee stage.