Why the Delay?
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THE revocation of the licences for cross-border services held by Northern Roadways, Ltd., has focused attention on the creaking, dilatory machinery for hearing appeals under the Road Traffic Act, 1930. The unconscionable delay in dealing with this case was responsible for a situation in which, without the belated forbearance of the Minister of Transport and the Licensing Authorities, the company might have had to try to locate 30,000 passengers and return to them the money which they had paid in advance for seats.
The Scottish Licensing Authority granted the licence on April 6, 1951, and appeals were lodged within a month from that date. The Ministry of Transport inspector did not hear them until November 13 of last yeaf. Over two months later (on January 23 this year) he reported to. the Minister and a further two months elapsed before the Minister announced his decision on March 27. Meanwhile, Northern Roadways, Ltd., accepted bookings for its summer services, as business could not reasonably be brought to a halt while the files of evidence passed from pigeon-hole to pigeonhole.
To take nearly a year to decide whether coach services which were operated last year should con= tinue to run this year is entirely unreasonable, and a public explanation of the delay is called for. Proceedings in other appeals have been extremely protracted and the parties to them have been put to inconvenience and sometimes unnecessary expense. It is time for the Minister to investigate the machinery for appeals and to see that, in future, it works not only justly but expeditiously.