Shortage of French permits denied
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• Following reports this week that operators were experiencing difficulty in obtaining French permits from the Ministry of Transport in Newcastle, CM asked an official at the Ministry how serious was the situation. He explained that there was in fact no shortage and stated that permit applications were considered by the Northern Licensing Authority in much the same way as carriers' licence applications.
There is a bilateral agreement with France through which the UK has permits for 14,000 journeys by road per annum and a further 2000 for the road /rail operations, 1000 of which may be used completely on road if they are not required for the dual-purpose type of operation.
It is understood that, following the agreement which came into operation on February 1, the Ministry considered that many of the applications were for exaggerated amounts. Applications are considered in order of priority and have to be lodged with the Northern traffic area on the prescribed form by the 14th of the previous month. Consideration is given to the type of operation and nature of load. The value of the traffic to exports, irrespective of whether a back-load has been arranged, the length of the journey, size of load and time of departure are all considered by the LA.