Road Safety Training (Hansard, 8 May 1963)

§ 22. Sir Richard Pilkington
asked the Minister of Transport how many boroughs run road safety training and instructional courses.

§ Vice-Admiral Hughes Hallett
Three hundred and two boroughs have allocated funds for road safety training in the current financial year, but I have no information about the extent to which other boroughs may be sponsoring training schemes.

§ Sir Richard Pilkington
Is my hon. and gallant Friend aware that the training courses given to all road users by the Accident Prevention Committee in the Borough of Poole have resulted in the lowest number of fatal casualties for sixteen years? Is not this a very great achievement, and will my hon. and gallant Friend induce the Chancellor of the Exchequer to give further money to provide for an extension of these schemes?

§ Vice-Admiral Hughes Hallett
We are, indeed, glad to hear from my hon. Friend that the accident rate at Poole has been so much reduced, and I am sure that the many road safety training schemes carried out in the borough have contributed to that reduction. As regards the second part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question, the Exchequer contribution towards the cost of training schemes run by local authorities is made by way of general grant.

§ Mr. Snow
Will the Parliamentary Secretary consult his right hon. Friend the Minister of Education to see whether these boroughs are getting the fullest possible co-operation from the schools in this campaign? I do no[...] wish to be contentious, but in view of the anticipated increase in road casualties if the Beeching Plan is implemented, will the hon. and gallant Gentleman draw to the attention of his colleagues the importance of the fullest financial support to increase consideration of this problem?

§ Vice-Admiral Hughes Hallett
I do not accept that implementation of the Beeching Plan will result in any increase at all in road casualties. As to the first part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question, we keep in close touch with the Ministry of Education on this subject. I quite agree with him.