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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 11 March 1992
ENVIRONMENT
Construction Industry
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next expects to meet representatives of the Building Employers Federation to discuss the effects of the recession on the industry.
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next expects to meet representatives of the construction industry to discuss the effects of the recession on the industry.
Mr. Yeo : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and Ministers in the Department have regular meetings with representatives of the construction industry to discuss matters of mutual interest.
Planning Controls
Mr. Dykes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish his final legislative proposals to increase local planning controls over the unnecessary demolition of dwelling houses by developers prior to any redevelopment activity.
Mr. Yeo : My hon. Friend will recall that we published proposals for public consultation in July last year. We have carefully considered the responses to the options we proposed. In the light of these responses, we have decided how to proceed. In about two months' time, we hope to make the instruments needed to commence the new controls, comprising a commencement order for the relevant parts of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 ; a direction which makes clear which types of building are to be subjected to the new controls over demolition ; and a general development amendment order, designed to ensure that the new controls operate in an efficient way, and without undue burden on either local authorities or potential developers.
The main effect of the new system will be that those who wish to demolish a dwellinghouse, or a building attached to a dwelling-house, will first need to notify the local planning authority and give 28 days for the authority to decide whether to call for details of the demolition, which it would then consider in the same way as a planning application--the right to demolish, subject to complying with the conditions, would not be removed or to make an article 4 direction, which would require a full planning application to be made, in which case there might be a requirement to pay the owner compensation. We do not expect the new system to result in a substantial number of planning applications for demolition, since in practice most of the details are likely to be sorted out in negotiation between the local planning authority and the developer in the context of his planning application for replacement buildings on any site.
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Devon County Structural Plan
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration was given to inviting Devon's hon. Members to participate and give evidence to the public examination of the Devon county structural plan on 24 March ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : It is normal practice to invite MPs to participate in an examination in public only if they had expressed an interest in the submitted proposals for alteration. Any request to participate will be considered by the panel chairman.
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the criteria on which the participation list for the public examination of the Devon county structural plan on 24 March was drawn up ; and who was consulted.
Mr. Yeo : In selecting participants for an examination in public, the basic criterion will be the significance of the contribution which, from their knowledge or the views they have expressed, they can be expected to make to the discussion of the matters to be examined. The examination is not directed to hearing objections, and it is not intended that all those who have objected should be invited to attend.
The list of selected matters and invited participants was produced in consultation with the panel chairman, as is normal practice. It was advertised by Devon county council on 16 January. The four-week period during which representations could be made ended on 13 February.
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration was given to including voluntary amenity and environmental groups from Devon localities in the public examination of Devon county structural plan ; and if he will invite the South Hams Amenity Federation to give evidence.
Mr. Yeo : In drawing up the list of participants for an examination in public, the aim is to select particpants who between them represent a broad range of viewpoints. A number of local environmental and amenity groups, including the Council for the Protection of Rural England, Devon Green party, Devon Friends of the Earth and Devon Conservation Forum have been invited to participate. It was decided that those participants invited to the examination, along with the written representations already received --including those of the South Hams Amenity Federation--would provide sufficient information for a decision to be reached on the alteration proposals.
No further representations were received from the South Hams Amenity Federation during the four-week period for comments to be made about the published draft list of selected matters and invited participants. However, the chairman of the panel has assured me that any late request by the federation will be treated sympathetically.
Empty Property, Devon
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the number of empty (a) public and (b) private properties for each district of Devon.
Mr. Yeo : Local authorities report the number of their own dwellings which are empty and estimates of empty
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dwellings owned by housing associations, by other public sector landlords, and by the private sector in their annual housing investment programme--HIP1--returns. "Other public sector" includes dewllings situated in the local authority area but owned by another local authority.The latest available figures, for April 1991, are in columns A71, A72, A73 and A74, respectively, of the "1991 HIP1 All Items Print". A copy is in the Library.
Local Authority Debt
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the list of local authorities which have debts which are not taken account of in their standard spending assessment, with the amount of those debts individually.
Mr. Key : The capital financing element of standard spending assessments is based on an assessment of interest charges flowing from a notional debt figure. There are a number of reasons why notional debt may differ from actual debt. No records are kept of individual items of excluded capital expenditure.
EC Directives
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to issue a consultation paper on the implementation of the urban waste water treatment directive and the nitrates directive ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : We have today issued a consultation paper outlining the Government's proposals in England and Wales for criteria and procedures for identifying sensitive areas and less sensitive areas--urban waste water treatment directive--and "polluted waters"--nitrates directive. As far as I am aware the United Kingdom is the first member state to consult publicly on the way we intend to implement these directives. This, I believe, demonstrates the Government's commitment to openness in environmental decision making and to the proper implementation of these directives which will make an important contribution to improving our environment. A copy of the consultation paper has been placed in the Library of the House.
Cash Limits
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any changes to announce to his Department's cash limits for 1991-92.
Mr. Yeo : Yes. I propose to make the following changes : (
(i) The non-voted cash limit for DOE/OES will be increased by £478, 000 from £93,894,000 to £94,372,000. This results from the provision of additional supplementary credit approvals to enable local authorities to raise finance to fulfil their obligations to contribute part of the cost of certain roads built by the Commission for the New Towns and new town development corporations in England. The increase will be wholly offset by a counterbalancing new towns receipt (see (iii)(b) below).
(ii) The non-voted cash limit for DOE/LACAP will be increased by £89,260,000 from £3,019,202,000 to £3,108,462,000. This results from the provision of additional supplementary credit approvals to enable Milton Keynes BC and The Wrekin DC to raise finance to purchase housing stock from Milton
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Keynes Development Corporation and Telford Development Corporation respectively. This increase is also wholly offset by counterbalancing new town receipts (see (iii)(b) below).(iii) The non-voted cash limit for DOE/NT (New Towns) will be increased by £95,262,000 from minus £449,800,000 to minus £354,538, 000. This net increase is the result of the following individual changes :
(a) an increase of £185,000,000, reflecting the effect on receipts of the present state of the property market. This increase will be charged to the reserve and will therefore not add to the planned total of public expenditure ;
(b) reductions of £478,000 and £89,260,000 respectively resulting from additional receipts from local authorities financed by the cash limit increases described in (i) and (ii) above.
(iv) The external finance limit for Letchworth Garden City Corporation will be increased by £231,000 from minus £500,000 to minus £269,000. This reflects changes in the corporation's financing profile as a result of the continuing depression in the property market.
Manchester Concert Hall
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the proposed Manchester concert hall. Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has today announced a grant of up to £22 million to Central Manchester development corporation towards the cost of the Manchester concert hall, which is part of the Great Bridgewater initiative. The concert hall will provide a much needed new home for the Halle orchestra and is central to the Great Bridgewater regeneration initiative.
Irish Sea (Science Co-ordinator)
Mr. Andy Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether agreement has been reached on the appointment of an Irish sea science co-ordinator.
Mr. Baldry : I am glad to report that my Department and the Departments of the Environment and of the Marine of the Republic of Ireland have agreed to commission EOLAS, the Irish Science and Technology Agency, to provide the services of Mr. Richard Boelens for three years as Irish sea science co-ordinator. Mr. Boelens will act as secretary of the co- ordination group to be set up to review existing and proposed monitoring and research programmes in the Irish sea and to assess priorities for further work to improve our knowledge of environmental issues affecting the Irish sea. In the course of this work he will prepare an inventory of Irish sea research and monitoring, identify gaps in these programmes and needs for co-ordination and prepare, in liaison with the relevant agencies, proposals for meeting these needs. Consideration will also be given to the timing, content and research requirements of a further quality status report on the Irish sea.
CITES Controls
Mr. Ken Hargreaves : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the Government support proposals before the conference of the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
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of Wild Fauna and Flora--CITES--in Kyoto aimed at strengthening controls on trade in wild caught animals and birds.Mr. Baldry : The Government have made clear their determination to work within CITES to ensure that wildlife species are not exploited by trade. The United Kingdom delegation to the CITES conference has played a leading role in negotiating proposals aimed at improving consultation with wildlife exporting countries and providing for tough action to crack down on trade which is being conducted at unsustainable levels. These proposals have been supported by the conference.
Charterhouse Estates Ltd.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities will consider visiting the Liverpool 1 area to look at the Charterhouse Estates Ltd's involvement in the inner-city area.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 5 March 1992] : During my visit to Liverpool on 6 March, I met the managing director of Charterhouse Estates Ltd and toured the Liverpool 1 area with him.
Mortgage Rescue Schemes
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the housing associations, building societies and local authorities within Derbyshire who are involved in negotiations with the Council of Mortgage Lenders to provide mortgage rescue schemes.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 10 March 1992] : Nine members of the Council of Mortgage Lenders have so far announced details of their mortgage rescue schemes, some of them involving agreements with housing associations ; others are still being negotiated. I hope that borrowers in Derbyshire will benefit from these schemes, and from the other measures announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 19 December, as will borrowers in other parts of the country. I understand that Amber Valley district council is intending to introduce a mortgage rescue scheme in conjunction with Walbrook housing association. Derby city council has said that it regards the introduction of a mortgage rescue scheme as a priority.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Squire) on 2 March, Official Report, columns 45-46, if he will produce three tables listing percentage figures for the 1992-93 settlement for (a) each district council, (b) each metropolitan district and (c) each shire county in England and Wales, based on the criteria used in that answer, in each case listing authorities in descending order according to the percentage size of the Government grants.
Mr. Key [holding answer 10 March 1992] : The information requested is not available for individual authorities for 1992-93.
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Heritage and Archaeology
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many civil servants are employed in his Department on matters relating to (a) the heritage and (b) archaeology.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 10 March 1992] : The heritage division of my Department has 41 staff, 12 of whom deal with archaeology. They are supported by English Heritage who are my statutory advisers on conservation matters. My Department's conservation unit, which advises on the good management of the Government's own historic estate, has five staff. In addition, staff in this and other Departments who are engaged on building construction and maintenance programmes recognise and discharge responsibilities for heritage conservation. Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what expenditure was made by his Department in the last financial year for which figures are available on (a) the heritage and (b) archaeology.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 10 March 1992] : The Department's expenditure on the heritage in 1990-91 was £148.4 million. The estimated outturn for 1991-92 is £176.5 million. Expenditure on archaeology, within the heritage total, is funded through English Heritage and the Royal Commission on the historical monuments of England, whose archaeology expenditure in 1990-91 was £8.1 million and £1.8 million respectively.
Mentally Ill Homeless People
Mr. O'Hara : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what funds are being made available through the Housing Corporation in 1992 -93 to provide revenue funding for housing associations providing permanent housing for mentally ill homeless people ready to move out of specialist short-term hostels in central London ; (2) how many permanent places for mentally ill homeless people currently living in specialist short-term hostsels in central London will be provided by housing associations in 1992 -93.
Mr. Dorrell : I have been asked to reply.
The Department revenue funds the specialist short-term hostels set up under the homeless mentally ill initiative at the rate of £14,630 per place per annum--1992-93 costs. Permanent accommodation for those moving on from the hostels is being provided via the Housing Corporation. In 1992-93 it expects to make available 150 new units and 150 units from housing association relets. The corporation monitor this provision regularly. The social care of people moving on from the short-term hostels is the responsibility of local social services authorities. To ensure that the transition takes place smoothly the Department has included within the homeless mentally ill initiative £500,000 per annum for the three years 1992-93 to 1994-95 to provide resettlement support.
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SOCIAL SECURITY
Part-time Students
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to restrict benefit entitlement for people who currently study part time under the 21-hour rule.
Miss Widdecombe : We have no such plans.
Independent Living Fund
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will evaluate the performance of the independent living fund since its inception in 1988.
Mr. Scott : We are proud of the many achievements of the ILF since it was founded nearly four years ago. It has played an important role in the run-up to community care and is currently helping nearly 12, 000 people to live independently in their own homes.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will review his decision to abolish the independent living fund in March 1993.
Mr. Scott : A successor body will be established to take over all the cases where beneficiaries of the independent living fund are receiving help at the end of March 1993. This new body will continue to make cash payments to its beneficiaries in the same way as the fund does now.
It is planned that from April 1993, people needing such help will be dealt with under the mainstream arrangements for community care.
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provision will be made available to the independent living fund for 1992-93.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if it remains his policy to ensure that the independent living fund can help existing beneficiaries and admit new people during 1992-93 ;
(2) how much his Department has allocated for funding the independent living fund for 1992-93 ; and if he will take steps to ensure that the independent living fund has sufficient funds to meet new applications throughout 1992-93.
Mr. Scott : In addition to the £82 million already proposed for the independent living fund in 1992-93, the Government have decided to grant a further £15 million, bringing a total provision to £97 million. The trustees assure me that this will be sufficient--in conjunction with other steps they are taking--to enable the fund to continue operating until April 1993.
Parliamentary approval for the additional sum, which will be met from the reserve without adding to the planning total for public expenditure, will be sought in the usual way.
Youth Training Scheme
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many young people in (a) Coventry, (b) the west midlands and (c) nationally have had their benefit cut as a result of coming off the youth training scheme prematurely or because they refused a place when offered one.
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Mr. Jack : The information requested is not available.
Pensions
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the percentage increase since 1979 in the real value of (a) retirement pension, (b) invalidity benefit and (c) widows' pension ; and if he will give the latest figures for the numbers of people receiving each benefit.
Miss Widdecombe : Basic retirement pension, invalidity benefit and widows pension have each increased by 2.8 per cent., in real terms, after allowing for inflation between the two complete uprating years ending November 1979 and April 1990.
The estimated average numbers of people, in thousands, in receipt of these benefits at any one time are in the table.
|'000
---------------------------------
Retirement pension |10,000
Invalidity benefit |1,209
Widows' pension |285
Note: The figures in the table
are for Great Britain and are
rounded
to the nearest thousand; the
source is "DSS Statistics". The
retirement pension figure is
based based on March 1991 data.
The invalidity benefit figure is
based on March 1990 data. The
widows' pension figure is based
on September 1990 data.
Disabled People (Benefits)
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what changes he has recently made to benefits for disabled people and their carers.
Mr. Scott : We have already issued a quarter of a million disability living allowance claim packs--to people who are currently not entitled to benefit and to those who can now claim extra benefit. Our extensive TV and press advertising campaign has resulted in over 250,000 inquiries from people who want information about the new benefits. To them we have issued a specially designed colour-coded guide which not only explains the two new benefits but also covers the many other benefits available to disabled people.
We have also begun to take claims for the new benefit, disability working allowance which is aimed at disabled people who are able to work, but have limited earnings' potential. The first awards of the benefit have already been made.
We are shortly to make several other changes which will help disabled people and their carers.
We have today laid regulations that raise to £40 the limit on the weekly amount that a carer can earn without it affecting their entitlement to invalid care allowance. This means that the limit will have increased by over 200 per cent. in the last two years. We have also laid regulations which will, from April, raise from 12 to 21 the number of hours of study that someone claiming invalid care allowance can undertake without it affecting their entitlement to that benefit.
Other regulations will be laid shortly to bring the residence and presence conditions for severe disability allowance into line, from April, with those which we have introduced for disability living allowance. This means the removal of the long-criticised "10 in 20 years" residence test.
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I am also pleased to announce that I laid yesterday regulations which will allow disabled people, who receive either invalidity benefit or severe disability allowance, to serve for one day a week as members of the new disability appeal tribunals and receive the full fee for taking on that invaluable work--without it affecting their entitlement to those benefits.National Insurance
Sir Timothy Raison : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans for technical adjustments to the system of national insurance contributions and credits which would assist people to qualify for contributory benefits.
Mr. Scott : We propose to lay regulations shortly which will amend the Social Security (Credits) Regulations 1975 to provide that people who receive a payment in lieu of notice or certain other compensatory payments will no longer be prevented from obtaining unemployment credits for the period covered by the compensatory payment. This will assist people to qualify for contributory benefits by covering potential deficiencies in their contribution records. We are also laying the Social Security (Contributions) Amendment (No. 5) Regulations 1992, which will further assist people to qualify for contributory benefits by the reallocation of national insurance contributions--NICs--paid in one tax year to another tax year. Those who will benefit are employed earners who commence employment towards the end of the tax year and whose first payment of earnings from that employment is made in accordance with the employer's normal pay practice in the following tax year. If the NIC record in the first tax year is deficient for contributory benefits, the class 1--employed earners--NICs paid for the first payment of earnings can be treated as paid in respect of the tax year in which the employment began if that would enable the employee to satisfy the contribution conditions for benefit.
Attendance Allowance
Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for attendance allowance were received in 1990-91.
Mr. Scott : In 1990-91, there were 445,000 claims for attendance allowance. This is a correction to the figure of 395,000 in table 10 of the "DSS Departmental Report", Cm 1914.
Pensioners
Sir Ian Gilmour : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of (a) women and (b) men in 1980 and in the latest year for which the figures are available reached retirement age with entitlement to (i) the full basic state pension, (ii) some state earnings-related pension or additional pension, (iii) an occupational pension and (iv) a personal pension.
Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 12 February 1992] : information is not available in the precise form requested, however such information as is available is given in the tables :
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Table 1
|Per cent.
---------------------------------------------------------
1. Percentage of men age 65 at 28
November 1980 in receipt of:
1. Any state retirement pension |84.35
ii. Full rate basic pension |79.47
iii. Some additional pension (SERPS) |55.14
2. Percentage of men age 65 at 31
March 1991 in receipt of:
i. Any state retirement pension |79.77
ii. Full rate basic pension |69.45
iii. Some additional pension (SERPS) |71.49
3. Percentage of women age 60 at 28
November 1980 in receipt of:
i. Any state retirement pension |63.10
ii. Full rate basic pension (own
contributions) |20.01
iii. Some additional pension (SERPS) |10.16
4. Percentage of women age 60 at 31
March 1991 in receipt of:
i. Any state retirement pension |67.44
ii. Full rate basic pension (own
contributions) |15.04
iii. Some additional pension (SERPS) |28.04
Table 2
The percentage of recently
retired in receipt of an
Occupational
Pension
Year |Percentage
---------------------------------
Men
1979 |61
1988 |69
Women
1979 |20
1988 |40
Notes for Table 2:
(a) The "recently-retired" are
defined as men aged 65-69 and
women aged 60-64.
(b) Estimates are for the United
Kingdom and are based on the
1979 and 1987 Government
Actuary's Department (GAD)
Occupational Pensions Surveys
and the 1979 and 1988 Family
Expenditure Surveys.
TRANSPORT
Coach Parking, London
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in meetings with representatives of the coach and tourist industries, London local authorities, the police and other Government Departments to alleviate coach parking problems in central London.
Mr. Freeman : I have today announced a series of initiatives which will help to improve the central London coach parking situation. The measures include the provision of more than 160 new coach parking spaces in or close to central London ; the lifting of evening coach parking restrictions on the Victoria embankment and Park lane ; the relaunch of the Bus and Coach Council code of conduct for the operating and parking of tourist coaches ; arrangements for distribution of the revised code of conduct to coach drivers at continental channel ports and Dover ; a new pay and park facility for coaches at the North Mall coach park ; Sunday morning opening at the Tower of London ; the freezing of charges at the Tower
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coach park for a third consecutive year and a feasibility study for a radio call back experiment in the area close to Westminster abbey.Dial-a-Ride
Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements have been made to fund the London dial-a-ride service.
Mr. Freeman : I am pleased to announce that the grant to London dial -a-ride services for 1992-93 will be £10.5 million. It has been most encouraging to see the rapid expansion of the scheme in recent years, and this announcement will allow London Transport to improve the services still further in 1992-93 : increasing the number of dial-a-ride trips from some 740,000 in the present year to more than 800,000 next year. It will also enable the completion of the planned regionalisation of the service.
Rail Passengers Charter
Mr. Stevens : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the bonuses to be paid to British Rail board members in relation to the passengers charter performance standards.
Mr. Freeman : For 1990-91 BR board members could have earned a maximum 25 per cent. bonus on salary for meeting a series of targets, including up to 7 per cent. for quality of service. Members actually received a maximum of 4 per cent. which included 1 per cent. for quality of service.
Details of a revised BR board bonus scheme for 1992-93, including quality of service targets based on the passengers charter, are currently being developed. On the basis of a possible maximum 10 per cent. bonus for quality, the actual bonus in 1991 would have been less than 2 per cent. of salary if the charter standards had applied, equivalent to around £4,000 for the chairman.
Channel Tunnel Freight Services
Mr. Grist : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has yet approved any order for freight wagons to equip British Rail's proposed channel tunnel freight services.
Mr. Freeman : I have authorised British Rail to invest in initial builds of 450 intermodal wagons and up to 550 automotive wagons for channel tunnel freight services, at a total cost of up to £65 million. The intermodal wagons will be used to carry standard containers and swap bodies in terminal to terminal services between BR's network of regional freight terminals in Britain and key destinations on the continent. The fully enclosed automotive wagons will enable BR to offer high quality services for the delivery of finished cars for import and export, minimising the risk of damage to vehicles en route.
Airedale Route Strategy
Mr. Hind : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on the A650 Airedale route strategy ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : The Airedale strategy will eventually provide a high standard dual carriageway road from Skipton in the north-west, via Bradford, to the M62. Good
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progress has been made on a number of sections. I am today announcing preferred routes for the Shipley eastern bypass, which would link to a tunnel on section 4, and for the Hard Ings road improvement, which improves a section of single carriageway in Keighley to dual two-lane carriageway standard.We are also pressing ahead with the preparation of main works for section 3 of the route, with advance works at Park road in Bingley currently out to tender and expected to start soon. We are well advanced in the preparation for inviting consultants to bid for the commission to carry out the preliminary design work for the tunnel option for section 4 and will invite bids soon.
Vehicle Mileages (Clocking)
Mr. Hind : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he proposes to take to combat the clocking of vehicle mileages.
Mr. Chope : We are working closely with the private sector in the development of effective and practical proposals to combat this abuse. Some companies already offer mileage check information services for the public and the motor trade, and the introduction of more comprehensive schemes is being actively considered. To provide the fullest possible data to underpin these services a "mileage box" is to be included on the vehicle registration document. Vehicle mileages at both the time of sale and of purchase will be collected by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and passed to companies running mileage check services. I believe that this development will prove to be a significant step forward in our drive to stamp out the fraudulent alteration of vehicle odometers and will be welcomed by the motoring public and motor dealers alike.
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