Uk Govt Flayed

Late last week, the British government was criticised by a House of Commons committee for its apparently half-hearted approach to shifting freight from roads to railways. The public accounts committee said it was concerned that a government grant scheme to encourage new rail freight facilities had failed to make much impact over the past 10 years. The committee accused the Department of Transport of failing to promote the scheme, and of using outdated environmental criteria to assess rail projects. The report says only £32 million in grants was paid between 1986-96, out of £70 million approved by parliament. The report will dent the government's "green" credentials, and fuel the belief of environmental pressure groups that the department is still "pro-road". The MPs said they were "concerned that freight facility grants may be having less impact than the government and parliament intended". "The department could have done more to promote the scheme to prospective applicants," the report adds.