The
Committee consisted of the following
Members:
Chair:
Philip
Davies
†
Burrowes,
Mr David (Enfield, Southgate)
(Con)
†
Cruddas,
Jon (Dagenham and Rainham)
(Lab)
Dobson,
Frank (Holborn and St Pancras)
(Lab)
†
Evans,
Graham (Weaver Vale)
(Con)
†
Field,
Mr Mark (Cities of London and Westminster)
(Con)
†
Halfon,
Robert (Harlow)
(Con)
†
Hancock,
Matthew (West Suffolk)
(Con)
Horwood,
Martin (Cheltenham)
(LD)
†
James,
Mrs Siân C. (Swansea East)
(Lab)
†
Mearns,
Ian (Gateshead)
(Lab)
†
Murphy,
Paul (Torfaen) (Lab)
†
Penning,
Mike (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for
Transport)
Shannon,
Jim (Strangford)
(DUP)
†
Smith,
Angela (Penistone and Stocksbridge)
(Lab)
†
Stevenson,
John (Carlisle)
(Con)
†
Vara,
Mr Shailesh (North West Cambridgeshire)
(Con)
†
Woodcock,
John (Barrow and Furness)
(Lab/Co-op)
†
Wright,
Simon (Norwich South)
(LD)
Marek Kubala; Edward White,
Committee Clerk
s
†
attended the Committee
First
Delegated Legislation
Committee
Monday 14
March
2011
[Philip
Davies
in the
Chair]
Draft
Road Vehicles (Powers to Stop) Regulations
2011
4.30
pm
The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mike
Penning):
I beg to
move,
That
the Committee has considered the draft Road Vehicles (Powers to Stop)
Regulations
2011.
It
is a pleasure, Mr Davies, to serve under your chairmanship for the
first time, either as a Minister of the Crown or in any other
capacity.
Vehicle and
Operator Services Agency examiners already have the power to stop
commercial vehicles to carry out limited compliance checks in England
and Wales. However, to be able to do so, VOSA officers have to be
individually accredited by chief officers of police. VOSA’s
stopping powers to check vehicle and driver compliance do not extend to
Scotland, and the police have to stop vehicles for them. We would all
agree that that is not an efficient use of police resources.
The purpose
of the regulations is to provide VOSA with Britain-wide powers to be
able to stop commercial vehicles at the roadside to conduct compliance
checks. In practice, the regulations will remove the need for police
assistance in Scotland, and greatly simplify the process of accrediting
VOSA stopping officers in England and Wales. The regulations also
include a minor amending provision, which will benefit the Driver and
Vehicle Agency in Northern Ireland by clarifying the existing
legislation and the extent of its powers. The new powers relate purely
to commercial vehicles.
The
regulations will extend to Scotland the ability of VOSA officers to
stop commercial vehicles to carry out roadside checks without having to
rely on police to undertake the stopping procedure. The regulations
will extend the scope of VOSA’s stopping powers so that they can
not only stop vehicles to check on their roadworthiness, as they
currently do in England and Wales, but check for compliance with
maximum HGV weight limits, drivers’ hours rules, operator
licensing and driver training—effectively, the stopping powers
in respect of the statutory checks that they will be charged with
carrying out. The regulations will simplify the process of accrediting
VOSA stopping officers in Great Britain, so that they can be accredited
by VOSA’s chief executive instead of chief officers of the
police. The provisions also extend to Northern Ireland, to give DVA
examiners the specific power to stop vehicles to check for Community
authorisations for the international carriage of goods, and
certificates of professional competence for drivers of certain
commercial
vehicles.
On
offence provisions, the regulations will deter criminal activity by
making it an offence to impersonate a VOSA stopping officer when
stopping a vehicle, or to impersonate a DVA examiner. The penalty on
summary conviction
will be a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale. The other
offence is to obstruct a VOSA stopping officer in his duties, where the
fine will not exceed level 3 on the standard scale; on indictment, that
would be imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month. In other
words, after the fine, there could be an imprisonable offence, but it
will not exceed one month. This tidying-up measure is warmly welcomed
north of the border in
Scotland.
Robert
Halfon (Harlow) (Con):
Will the civilian stopping officers
help tackle the problem of foreign lorries not paying UK road tax,
which hurts our distribution industry so
badly?
Mike
Penning:
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. VOSA officers
already have the right not only to impose on-the-spot fines or a
penalty notice, but take a deposit in case a fine is not
paid.
The
regulations will extend the powers in Scotland for VOSA officers to be
able to stop a vehicle—the police are currently required to do
so—and for the chief executive of VOSA to designate which
officers can do so, rather than waiting for the
police.
Robert
Halfon:
Following what my hon. Friend said about foreign
lorries, will he ensure that the change will not lead to another
stealth tax on domestic motorists, like the massive expansion in
parking fines issued by local
authorities?
Mike
Penning:
The offence is purely for commercial vehicles. It
is a stopping provision to ensure that vehicles are legal and that
drivers do not exceed their hours, or commit other such
offences—parking offences are nothing to do with
those.
I commend the
regulations to the Committee.
4.35
pm
John
Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op):
It is a
pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies. You
and other Members will be interested to hear, and will indeed welcome
the fact, that I intend to be equally brief. The Opposition fully
subscribe to the aims of the regulations, which are similar to
regulations proposed last year by the previous Government, although,
sadly, they did not see the light of day before the general
election.
VOSA performs
an essential role in ensuring that commercial vehicles on British roads
operate safely and within the law. We are all aware of the concerns of
the general public and the British haulage industry about commercial
vehicle operators, particularly those from overseas that seek to obtain
commercial advantage by flouting UK regulations.
As the
Minister will know, the regulations build on the principles of the
Police Reform Act 2002, which allowed for valuable front-line policing
resources to be maximised by permitting civilians, including VOSA
officers, to exercise selected policing powers. Those resources were
needed then, and we absolutely need to build on them now, as police
forces are increasingly stretched, given the cuts being imposed on
them.
I particularly
welcome the powers to stop vehicles so that compliance with provisions
on drivers’ hours can be investigated. It is also right, as the
Minister suggested, to ensure that powers to stop are made uniform
across the UK.
One response
to the consultation raised concern that introducing the offence of
failing to stop for a VOSA officer, which the Minister mentioned, makes
it essential that such officers are easily identifiable at all times.
That is a valid concern, and I would be grateful if the Minister could
tell us how he will deal with it when the regulations are
implemented.
Nevertheless,
the Opposition fully support the spirit and intention of the
regulations, which build constructively on reforms introduced by the
late, lamented Labour Government.
4.37
pm
Mike
Penning:
I will touch on a couple of points raised by the
shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness. The powers are
already used in England and Wales, and we are implementing them in
Scotland. VOSA in Scotland will use exactly the same methodology for
stopping vehicles as it does in the UK.
VOSA officers
are highly visible, and many motorists actually think they are
policemen, even though they are not. I do not mind that if we are
stopping people. Officers are visible, and safety is obviously
paramount when we are trying to stop vehicles, especially heavy goods
vehicles.
The shadow
Minister is absolutely right that a lot of these measures were on the
table, but they were not implemented. We need the regulations so that
we can ensure that road safety is adhered to, particularly by hauliers.
That is especially true of some of the new measures relating to vehicle
driving time. As someone who has driven HGVs, I know how easy it can be
at times, particularly in inclement weather, for people to drive for
longer than they should. It is for VOSA to make sure that the
provisions are enforced and that our roads are safe for all users of
our highways, whether they are foreign hauliers or British hauliers,
and I know that the industry is keen to ensure that that happens. With
that, I hope that the Committee will accept the regulations.
Question
put and agreed to.
4.38
pm
Committee
rose.
