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Do pub mini-buses break law?
Page 50
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• Mr. Julian Ridsdale, MP for Harwich, said last week that he was prepared to introduce a Bill in the House of Commons if necessary to enable publicans freely to operate mini-buses.
Mr. Ridsdale has taken up the case of Mr. Tony Baker, licensee of the "Maid's Head", Thorpe, Essex, who has been told by the Traffic Commissioners that he is breaking the law by running his mini-bus without a public service vehicle licence. In the Commons last February, Mr. Ridsdale asked the then Minister of Transport. whether she would seek to amend the law and the answer he received was: "We are aware of no difficulty in operating such services provided that any relevant licensing and insurance requirements under the 1960 Road Traffic Act are observed".
Dissatisfied at this reply, Mr. Ridsdale wrote to the Minister of Transport asking if the use of a mini-bus by Mr. Baker was illegal and what steps could be taken to put the matter right. Last week Mr. Ridsdale received a reply saying that the case involved "rather difficult legal points which we are trying to resolve as soon as possible".