§ 21. Mr. Swinglerasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will issue regulations requiring private companies who apply to the Traffic Commissioners for licences to run omnibus and coach services to provide proof of the bona fides of their alleged supporters.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterNo, Sir.
§ Mr. SwinglerIf the right hon. Gentleman will consult the Traffic Commissioners, perhaps he will change his mind. Has not his attention been drawn to the case in the West Midlands last week, where a bus company produced a fraudulent list of petitions in support of an application, where the fraud was discovered by a rival company, but where, because the application was withdrawn, the Traffic Commissioners were unable to take any action against the company? Surely, there should be some means of preventing such frauds being perpetrated?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI think that the incident to which the hon. Gentleman refers, and of which I am aware, indicates the fact that the Traffic Commissioners are perfectly capable of weighing the case put to them without further assistance.