§ 16. Mr. Longdenasked the Minister of Transport whether she will now make a statement about the methods of measuring sound and about the introduction of construction and use regulations which specify permissible noise level.
§ Mrs. CastleI have nothing to add to the Answer given to the hon. and learned 1687 Member for Buckinghamshire, South (Mr. Ronald Bell) on 20th July.
§ Mr. LongdenIs the right hon. Lady aware that I am informed by the Commissioner of Police that motor cycle silencers, even when they conform with the law, still cause much annoyance, and, moreover, that how much noise constitutes an offence is still a matter of opinion? If these statements are correct, as I am sure they are, can she not do something about them?
§ Mrs. CastleI entirely agree about the need for new regulations, but they obviously would be fairly far-reaching with the fixing of new maximum levels and with the details of enforcement that would be necessary. My working party is going into these many aspects as urgently as possible. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that noise is one of the curses of modern society, and I should be very happy to do something about it as quickly as possible.