2. PROPOSED DIRECTIVE RELATING TO
SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR VEHICLES USED FOR THE CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS
COMPRISING MORE THAN EIGHT SEATS IN ADDITION TO THE DRIVERS SEAT
AMENDING DIRECTIVE 70/156/EC (9734/97)
Letter from Lord Tordoff, Chairman of
the Committee, to The Baroness Hayman, Minister for Roads, Department
of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Thank you for your letter of 8 December 1997[2]
on the above proposal, which was considered by Sub-Committee B
at its meeting on Thursday, 22 January.
In your letter you sought to clarify two issues
raised by the Committee. The first relates to the effect of the
Directive on the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act
(DDA). The Committee accepts the Government's position on this
point.
The second issue relates to the "optional"
nature of the proposed Directive. Paragraph 3 of your letter states
that "national requirements may be operated in parallel with
the Directive and this may mean that local manufacturers have
a competitive advantage if those standards are different".
The Committee remains unclear what is meant by this statement.
If national requirements, such as regulations made under the DDA,
may be higher than those contained in the Directive, the Committee
considers that this would mean that local manufacturers would
suffer a competitive disadvantage. As you state in the same paragraph,
the Directive would give manufacturers a guarantee that they will
be able to sell their products in any Member State.
The Committee would therefore appreciate a more
detailed clarification on this issue. In the meantime, this letter
maintains the scrutiny reserve.
26 January 1998
Letter from The Baroness Hayman, Minister
for Roads, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions,
to Lord Tordoff, Chairman of the Committee
Thank you for your letter of 26 January, in
response to mine of 8 December, in which your Committee seeks
clarification on two issues relating to the above mentioned proposed
Directive.
My previous letter set out the framework for
approval of buses and coaches once the Directive has been agreed.
In areas where the proposed Directive does not ensure adequate
standards, we are actively negotiating to ensure that it is amended.
National standards could, however, differ from
those contained in the proposed Directive which operators may
find preferable, for instance more flexible seating arrangements.
In this case, local manufacturers could continue to provide vehicles
which conform to national regulations and would find it easier
to do so than manufacturers in other Member States.
The approval regime for vehicles that meet national
regulations may also be perceived to be simpler than obtaining
an approval to the Directive. Currently in the UK this involves
inspection of each vehicle to ensure standards are being met.
Vehicles which fail to meet national regulations when inspected
have to be modified by the manufacturer. Once again UK based manufacturers
will find it easier to do this than those whose manufacturing
facilities are based in another Member State.
I hope you find this clarification useful and
I am happy to provide any further assistance you require.
4 February 1998
Letter from Lord Tordoff, Chairman of
the Committee, to The Baroness Hayman, Minister for Roads, Department
of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Thank you for your letter of 4 February on the
above proposal, which was considered by Sub-Committee B at its
meeting this morning.
In your letter you sought to clarify further
the "optional" nature of the proposed Directive. The
Committee's main concern was that national regulations, if different
from those contained in the Directive, could require local manufacturers
to produce vehicles to a higher standard than vehicles manufactured
in another Member State. As you state in previous correspondence
(your letter of 8 December 1997), the Directive would give manufacturers
a guarantee that they will be able to sell their products in any
Member State. This could put local manufacturers at a disadvantage
relative to manufacturers in other Member States who would not
have to meet the higher national requirements in order to sell
their vehicles. Your letter of 4 February did not satisfy the
Committee's concerns on this issue.
The Committee therefore requests a more detailed
clarification on this issue. In the meantime, this letter maintains
the scrutiny reserve.
9 March 1998
Letter from The Baroness Hayman, Minister
for Roads, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions,
to Lord Tordoff, Chairman of the Committee
Thank you for your letter of 9 March, in response
to mine of 4 February, in which your Committee seeks further detailed
clarification of the "optional" nature of the above
mentioned proposed Directive.
Perhaps it would be helpful to review the basis
of the regulations for bus approvals within the European Community.
Currently each Member State has its own set of national regulations
which manufacturers have to meet to sell their vehicles within
that State. The Directive, will mean that manufacturers who meet
the technical provisions contained therein will automatically
be able to sell their vehicles in any other Member State, rather
than building to fifteen different specifications as at present.
Thus a UK manufacturer wishing to sell abroad
will be able to either build vehicles to the national regulations
appropriate to that Member State, or build them to the standards
in the Directive, as all Member States will have to accept vehicles
meeting the Directive specifications as well as those which meet
their localspecifications. The Directive will, therefore, make
it easier for UK manufacturers to sell abroad, compared to the
present situation where local standards differ from the Directive.
As regards UK manufacturers selling in the UK they will also have
the choice of the Directive standards or the UK ones.
I hope this clarifies the optional nature of
the Directive.
24 March 1998
Letter from Lord Tordoff, Chairman of
the Committee, to The Baroness Hayman, Minister for Roads, Department
of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Thank you for your letter dated 24 March on
the above proposal which was considered by Sub-Committee B at
its meeting on Thursday, 23 April.
In your letter you provide an explanation of
the optional nature of the proposed Directive. In paragraph 3
you state that United Kingdom manufacturers selling in the United
Kingdom will "have the choice of the Directive standards
or the United Kingdom ones". In your previous letter dated
8 December on the same proposal you stated that "we will
be obliged to accept those buses and coaches that meet the requirements
of it [the Directive]". The Committee accepts your explanation
of the optional nature of the Directive, but remain concerned
that this may render domestic provisions made under the Disability
Discrimination Act redundant if they are higher than those in
the Directive. We accept, however, that you are concerned to raise
the provisions of the Directive in line with those of the Disability
Discrimination Act.
We would appreciate being kept informed of any
further progress made on this proposal. In the meantime, this
letter lifts the scrutiny reserve.
28 April 1998
2 ibid. p42. Back
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