Thirty-Seventh Report of Session 2019-21 Contents

---

Appendix 1

S.I. 2020/1146

Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No.3) (Amendment) Order 2020

1.In its letter to the Department of 16th December 2020, the Committee requested a memorandum on the following:

“Is it intended that the condition in regulation 2(6)(a) (inserted paragraph (C1)) that a priority goods permit may be issued to a vehicle “that is carrying only priority goods” needs to be satisfied throughout the life of that permit, or is it intended to be sufficient for the condition to be satisfied at the point when the permit is issued (having regard, for example, to a consignment of chicks that is between 48 and 72 hours old at the time when the permit is issued)?”

2.In response to the question above, it is the policy intention that a heavy commercial vehicle, in respect of which a priority goods permit is issued, should carry only priority goods both at the point the permit is issued and during the duration of the permit’s validity (i.e. 24 hours). So, for example, the priority goods should not later during the journey in Kent be mixed with or exchanged for non-priority goods.

3.In a case where a priority goods permit has been issued in respect of a consignment of chicks that is between 48 and 72 hours old at the point when the permit is issued, it is the policy intention that the permit will not be considered invalid because the chicks have now reached the age of 72 hours. In practice such day-old chicks normally arrive at their European destination, i.e. at a market, within 72 hours. So at the point a permit is issued at a site in Kent the chicks would usually be considerably younger than 72 hours.

4.We trust that the explanation above provides some assurance to the Committee.

Department for Transport

21 December 2020