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MPs quiz Minister on EEC transport
Page 18
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• On the eve of the vote for the Common Market Mr John Peyton, the Minister for Transport Industries, faced MPs anxious about the effects of entry on British road transport.
He pointed out to Mr Peter Fry (Tory, Wellingborough) who was anxious about heavy lorries on our roads that there were no regulations in the Common Market dealing with goods vehicle weight limits. But, said Mr Peyton, he never lost any opportunity to raise with his European opposite numbers the real dangers of allowing weight limits to be raised beyond the level which could be safely accommodated by the ancient towns and cities of Europe as well as this country.
Answering Mr Eric Cockeram (Tory, Bebington), Mr Peyton recalled that Britain had asked for a transitional period of four years, from our date of entry into EEC, before complying with the regulations concerning drivers' hours. Mr Cockeram asked about the cost to British industry if we were to adopt European standards and was told it was "a bit early to make an estimate".
Labour front bench spokesman on transport, Mr Tom Bradley, asked why, as recently as July 1 in this year, the Government had forced through regulations which they must have known ran counter to EEC requirements.
"A very good question," observed Mr Peyton — he always had hopes that the standards produced in Britain might have some influence elsewhere and he did not intend to give up the struggle too early.
Mr Peyton noted that tachographs would not be fitted to all vehicles until 1978 under EEC regulations. Mr Fergus Montgomery (Tory, Brierley Hill), who had asked about these instruments, said their installation would be welcomed by many in the transport industry and were particularly popular with unions on the Continent. He asked about meetings on this subject and Mr Peyton replied that he was seeing the unions in the very near future. As far as the operators were concerned he was always ready to consult with them.
Mr Leslie Huckfield (Labour, Nuneaton) suggested that Mr Peyton should have at least prescribed minimum technical standards for tachographs — at which Mr Peyton retorted that he could not recall what representations the MP had made when the 1968 Transport Act was under discussion,