HC Deb 10 August 1966 vol 733 cc1687-9
22. Mr. Russell Kerr

asked the Minister of Transport what plans she has to communicate with other interested Governments, with a view to reducing the hazards being encountered by British tourists travelling across Western Europe by long-distance coach; and whether she will make a statement.

74. Mr. Hunt

asked the Minister of Transport if she will give details of the discussions which have taken place with foreign Governments on the question of the excessive hours being worked by drivers of continental coaches carrying British tourists; and whether she will make a statement.

Mrs. Castle

I am sure that all interested Governments are concerned that safety requirements should be met. Apart from the standards applied in each country, international standards have been drawn up and Her Majesty's Government desire to see them extended over as large an area as possible. I am asking my colleagues in the European Council of Ministers of Transport what more we might do collectively to improve the safety of international road passenger transport for all tourists.

Mr. Kerr

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is continuing public alarm over these continental coach disasters, and will she seriously consider convening, as a matter of urgency, a meeting of her colleagues on the Continent in order to discuss the matter?

Mrs. Castle

I am immediately getting in touch with my colleagues on the Continent to see whether we can make any further progress, particularly with the European Agreement on drivers' hours, which was signed by eight countries in 1962 but cannot come into force until it has been ratified by at least three contiguous countries. The next step is for me to use my influence to get ratification and progress with that agreement.

Mr. Hunt

Is the right hon. Lady aware that many tourists are bringing back hair-raising stories of experiences on holiday? Will she make special representations to the Belgian Government, under whose control most of the bad and dangerous driving appears to be taking place?

Mrs. Castle

We have all been horrified by the recent accident and the implications for British tourists, but I think that the best way of tackling the question is in the collective way to which I have referred and on which I am acting at once.

Mr. Hogg

I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for the personal attention she has been giving to this matter, but will she recognise that the British Government have some responsibility through their publicly-owned subsidiary Thomas Cook and Son, Limited, an agency through which many of the tourists have booked who have suffered personal injury or death?

Mrs. Castle

The right hon. and learned Gentleman and I have been in correspondence on this matter and, as he knows, I am deeply concerned by the evidence he put before me. Thomas Cook and Son, Limited, on its own behalf, is urgently investigating this accident which, of course, affected one of its tours. I would only add that the coach operator concerned in that case has been used by Thomas Cook's for 40 years without any previous incident, so I am sure that we can take it for granted that Thomas Cook's is as anxious as anyone to ensure the full safety of its tours.

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