Why all this urgency about short-term B applications?
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P economic squeeze has been effective in many places for good or bad, but never in their wildest dreams
rld our politicians see it affecting licensing—particularly short-term licensing.
In the Greater London area we have heard rumblings for some little time about "pirates" and fly-tipping. Last week the rumblings developed into a volcanic eruption.
Mr. L. House, RHA national council member, aired his views in COMMERCIAL MOTOR and Mr. E. Hemphill, chairman of the RHA tipping vehicles group told colleague E. J. Millen: "Short-term licences are granted too freely because nobody objects to them." The executive officers of the SBMA, who are engaged in an antipiracy campaign said: "We are going to clean up this industry."
At last it seems the tipper men do mean business. Eddie Hemphill was right in saying that they do not always oppose short-term applications. But then they are not always published in Applications and Decisions. Mr. House and the SBMA are quite right in fighting to clear the pirates off the road. The LA's staff are keeping a close watch on all applications. Their concerted efforts may soon bear fruit but the results could be accelerated if the procedure adopted was more uniform nationally.
This week I made a run round the 11 traffic areas. The procedures differed in each area and it may be that executive officers at traffic area offices will wish to know what their colleagues elsewhere are doing.
In the South East, I learned that if time permits, the application is published. The applicants are also required to advise the RHA who must state to the LA in writing that they have no objection. Experience shows that if an objection is lodged the application is withdrawn.
In Scotland (North), applications are not normally published but the LA's staff do enquire from RHA and tipper operators if they are available to do the work before a grant is made. In Scotland (South), applications are published and are open to objection in the normal way.
The Northern area adopts the same procedure as Scotland (South). If the principal sub-contractor has a record of rates troubles the LA's office may ask for the rate to be divulged.
Over in the North West, there is no "may". The LA, Mr. C. Hodgson, recently demanded not only to be told the rate but also to be shown that it was adequate. This was at Abergele by-pass and the result was that RHA members got the work at Is. per ton above the rate which had been paid previously to the shortterm operators.
In the Yorkshire area, where there have been motorway projects which always encourage short-term applications, the application must be accompanied by supporting evidence which must also state the duration of the contract. The LA's office accept the fact that in this area there is always insufficient spare capacity to meet an increased demand for a shortterm.
In the West Midlands, the application which is not published must be accompanied by a letter of support from the civil engineering contractor.
The opposite view is taken in the East Midlands. All applications, except in cases of extreme urgency are published and the application is heard at a public inquiry.
This is also the case in the Eastern Area. Indeed I am advised that this LA wants to know why there is extreme urgency.
Moving across country to South Wales: the civil engineers in this area are so trained that they contact the LA's office and state their approximate needs. They are required to support applications and before a grant is made the LA's staff inquire from local sources about availability.
In the West, when a new project starts the first 20 or so short-term applications are published; thereafter applications are dealt with by adopting the principle of local inquiry.
The Metropolitan area publishes and the applications are heard at public inquiries.
Certainly there does not appear to be any pattern to all this and it may be that the Ministry wishes to leave matters such as this open to LA's to exercise their local knowledge.
If so is this correct? Would it not be desirable to publish all short-term B applications where they are to be used on public works or civil engineering contracts? To protect the owner operator from the sub-contractor and in some cases the second sub-contractor, should the LA not be told the rate? This will ensure that he doesn't condone uneconomic competition. Can such work be looked upon as urgent, because only under such circumstances need the application not be published.
Section 173 (1) reads:—"This section applies to every application for the grant of an A licence or a B licence except (d) An application for a short-term licence where the Licensing Authority is of the opinion that the application has been made with reasonable expedition and that the demand for the use of the vehicles to be authorized under the licence is so urgent as to render compliance with the requirements of this section impracticable."
Section 173 (2) reads:—"The Licensing Authority shall publish in the prescribed manner notice of an application to which this section applies specifying the time within which and the manner in which objections may be made to the grant of the application."
Public works and civil engineering contracts do not happen overnight. In the main, such tenders are put out by local authorities, Government departments, national utilities, or large development groups. And I am sure they do not demand that the excavation begins the day after acceptance of the tender. There should be time for publication.
The industry is now actively interested in short-term applications which are pending in the Metropolitan area and which I am told will meet with strong opposition.
What has all this to do with the squeeze? Well, pirates are as old as Long John Silver and they would I feel sure have been left alone had not the legitimate hauliers been feeling the draught. Nevertheless, you may think that if the economic situation is helping to stir up this action it will have been worth the suffering.