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Probing vehicle licences

3rd June 1966, Page 40
3rd June 1966
Page 40
Page 40, 3rd June 1966 — Probing vehicle licences
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

ROAD hauliers escaped pretty lightly when MPs last week discussed what one of them called the "public scandal" of vehicles being used without road fund licences.

Mr. Arthur Lewis (Labour. West Ham, North), who has long been campaigning for a tightening up of the licensing system, opened the debate.

He spoke of thousands of unlicensed vehicles, and said that this applied to-trade vehicles as well.

Some private individuals bought secondhand tipping lorries from reputable firms, then set up on their own and went round collecting rubble, being paid so much a load.

The more loads they carried, the more money they got. He was told that some of these people were picking up as much as £20 or £30 a day in this way. But many were not paying the nominal road fund licence tax.

Mr. Bernard Braine (Tory, South East Essex) said he had been told of hauliers who ran small fleets of lorries, taxed in different names at different addresses, who found it profitable not to pay the licence, and to run the risk of a fine.

In due course they might pay fines, which could amount to £15, £20 or £25, but it paid them to do this.

Mr. Stephen Swingler, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, agreed that evasion existed, and many thousands of cases were reported. All possibilities of reforming and streamlining the licensing procedure were being considered, said Mi. Swingler.

He could not give any details then, but the Ministry were urgently considering and discussing with those concerned whether improvements could be made in the reporting and investigating processes, and also in the system of licensing itself, so that they would be able to establish a better standard of enforcement.


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