MPs stick to test station opposition
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HE GOVERNMENT is being less than honest when it says that the dustry has changed its views to accept the privatisation of vehicle 1st stations, the House of Commons says in a report published on londay.
In one of the fastest presenta)ns of its views, the all-party )mmittee has based a fiveige report on evidence it took om operators' associations Id the Institution of ProfesDna! Civil Servants last week 7M, February 20), and says ere is no evidence to suggest at the operators have changed air view.
"None of these organisations is received any information )m the Government, or been wsuaded by any arguments )m the Government, which 'sled them to change their fun'mental opposition to the prilisation of hgv or psv testing," id the report.
It said that all replied "no" thout any hesitation when ked if, for any reason, they had anged their minds on the prinp I e of the Government's oposals, which are now conned in its Transport Bill. "Any representation to the contrary is simply not borne out by the evidence we have now received," it said.
And it goes on to say, that on the basis of this evidence, existing vehicle testing arrangements should continue.
The committee says it did detect a desire on the part of the operators for more flexibility to be introduced into the testing regime, particularly to extend opening hours and include the provision of spare parts.
But it added that the IPCS told it that the Government has never made any approach to it or any other trades union involved to discuss more flexible working practices.
The committee has also called for the Bill to be amended so that the test stations can only be sold to a single organisation, and not to groups or individuals as the Government is prepared to do, in the event of Lloyd's Register of Shipping, or another single body, not being willing to buy them all. It also wants the Bill to be amended so that the Transport Secretary's powers to sell the stations should only be possible through statutory instrument.
The transport committee is chaired by Social Democrat transport spokesman Tom Bradley, who voted against the Bill at its second reading earlier this month, and Conservative backbenchers Peter Fry and Sir David Price, both of whom serve on the committee, abstained then.