Privatisation Bill eady for Christmas
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HER Transport Bill is expected to be published before Christbut the Government's thoughts on the Armitage Report seem as far away as ever, writes ALAN MILLAR.
!lowing the Queen's in which there was a ise to reduce State involve in transport and to introthe fixed penalty system )ad traffic offences, a De • ment of Transport ?sman told CM that a Bill d be published within the 'ew weeks.
h the administration now ray through its term of , its strict economic goals in its greatest priorities, t is measures which reduce 31 Government expenditure .1 will dominate the transegislative timetable.
? commitment to sell the 91 goods vehicle test stareaffirmed at CM's Fleet Igement Conference last th by Junior Transport ter Kenneth Clarke, res, and is widely expected to ? in the Bill.
yd's Register remains the favourite to take over the , and it is expected that not Nill the test station staff be ired to transfer to Lloyd's byment, but that senior servants will transfer to ige the service for Lloyd's. ce this solution was pro earlier this year by the deration of British Road ?nger Transport, it has been ited by other trade associaand industry representaas the best solution to a ure which few outside the rnment really wanted.
: the widespread enthu for the Lloyd's solution ske a jolt last week, when &tor Agents Association the Government to go to its original idea of selling ations to the motor trade. Drawing comparisons with the experience of running the car testing scheme, MAA national truck committee chairman John Thurston said that although "a majority" of MAA truck members was against the privatisation plan, a "far larger majority" was prepared to run them if the Government went ahead.
It was against Lloyd's or anyone else being brought in to run the stations, and added: "Now that privatisation is coming, the motor trade is the natural and obvious choice to run the hgv test stations."
This view was challenged by the Road Haulage Association and Freight Transport Association, both of which said that the arrival of the motor trade on the scene would lead to fragmentation of the network, with a consequent loss of common standards and integrity of the network.
The absence of Armitage from the legislative programme does not necessarily mean that all is lost. An increase in gross weights does not require any primary legislation, merely an amendment to the Construction and Use Regulation.
But it is unlikely to be politically acceptable for Transport Secretary David Howell to introduce such a measure without also implementing the environmental measures which form a greater part of the Report. They willl demand more state finance, and that could be a massive stumbling block, given the Government's economic priorities.