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New List of Units to be Issued: B:R.S. Tonnage Pegged at 36,000
Page 55
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By Our Parliamentary Correspondent
A FURTHER list of transport units would be issued in a matter, of days, Lord Selkirk, Chancellor of the Duchy, announced in the House of Lords on Tuesday. This would, he thought, be the last sale of units, although afterwards some vehicles might be sold as chattels. This statement was made during the report stage of the Transport (Disposal of Road Haulage Property) Bill, which was completed.
Lord Lucas moved an amendment to increase by 354 tons the unladen weight of general haulage vehicles to be retained by British Road Services. A tonnage of 36,354 was, he said, necessary to maintain the trunk network, but only 36,000 tons, equal to 101 fewer vehicles, was provided in the Bill.
By a fortuitous inquiry he had discovered that the figure had been reduced by 354 tons. "This savours of the worst form of political manoeuvre," he claimed.
Lord Selkirk replied that Lord Lucas, had missed the fundamental point that the British Transport Commission were free to select the number of vehicles, provided that they complied with the statutory limits on weights and numbers. If two conditions were inserted in the Bill, the Commission could fill one and not the other. They did not necessarily have to fulfil both up to the hilt.
The Bill was a compromise and Lord Lucas's figure of 354 tons was only 1 per cent, of the total already prescribed in the Bill. If the Minister had made this division within 1 per cent, of complete accuracy, he had done well.
The amendment was defeated by 61 votes to 20.
Nomination of Directors
Lord Lucas moved two amendments, but later withdrew them, to delete the power given to the Minister to nominate directors of a company formed for sale. Lord Selkirk replied that it would not be practicable to ask the public to subscribe to a company unless they knew the names of the directors
When Lord Lucas moved another amendment to ascertain when the "expense of disposal" would come to an end, Lord Selkirk replied that so far the cost of the Road Haulage Disposal Board had been £54,800. He expected that the Board, who would have to make a final report, would be abolished by the end of the year. [Their halfyearly report was due to be presented to the Minister on May 29.] There was no reason to fear that any of the costs of the Board would fall on the Commission. The amendment was withdrawn.
RIBBLE DIRECTORATE CHANGE WHEN Mr. J. W. Womar, managing VI' director of Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., retires from the B.E.T. group on June 28, he will be replaced on the board of Ribble by Mr. A. F. R. Carling. Mr. Womar has been managing director since 1946.