HC Deb 14 July 1969 vol 787 cc13-4
4. Mr. Gwilym Roberts

asked the Minister of Transport what steps he is taking to ensure the safety of the public, in view of defects in foreign cars particularly those of Japanese makes; and if he will take steps to ensure that no new foreign cars are sold in Great Britain until they have passed a comprehensive road safety test and the makers assure his Department that adequate servicing arrangements are available to minimise accident risk.

16. Mr. William Hamilton

asked the Minister of Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that all Japanese manufactured cars imported into the United Kingdom conform with all United Kingdom safety regulations.

Mr. Bob Brown

All United Kingdom manufactured vehicles and those imported must comply with United Kingdom safety regulations. In the rare cases where they do not our engineers immediately take corrective action with the manufacturers. Other defects which only come to light after a vehicle has been in use for some time would not be detected by the tests suggested by my hon. Friend the Member for Bedfordshire, South.

Mr. Roberts

Would my hon. Friend agree that when defects are found very long delay is caused to the purchasers in this country because of the inefficient servicing of such cars? Does he not feel that far more stringent tests are necessary on imported cars to bring them anywhere near the standards normally accepted by British motor manufacturers?

Mr. Brown

There is no evidence which leads us to believe that Japanese cars in use in this country are any less safe than any other vehicle. In the past, defects have been found in vehicles made by various motor manufacturers throughout the world. These defects have been put right at source for future production, and manufacturers' agents in foreign countries have dealt with the defects of the exported vehicles.

Mr. Hamilton

Is it not the case that in Japan a good many cars of Japanese make have been sent back to the manufacturers because they are unsafe? Has the Ministry given any special advice or guidance to owners or prospective owners of Japanese cars in this country to make sure that they are completely road-worthy and safe?

Mr. Brown

I think that my hon. Friend is referring to the Honda baby car. There are very few such cars in use in this country. No defects have been discovered in them in our spot checks. We are watching carefully the action of the Japanese Ministry of Transport and the manufacturers.

Sir G. Nabarro

Does the hon. Gentleman recall that British motor cars entering the United States must conform to very, very high safety standards? Can he give an assurance that Japanese cars entering this country must conform to equally high standards as those applicable to British cars in the United States?

Mr. Brown

We are considering this matter in relation to the general question of the international harmonisation of vehicle safety standards. I emphasise that there is no evidence to suggest that foreign vehicles are any less safe than United Kingdom manufactured vehicles. Any special measures aimed at foreign vehicles could bring retaliation against vehicles manufactured in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Michael Heseltine

Would the hon. Gentleman explain why the Ministry is still only considering this matter when the United States has long since taken action enforcing high safety standards which could have had appalling effects on British exporters if they had not reacted as they did? Why should not Japanese exporters be expected to comply with similar regulations introduced in this country?

Mr. Brown

We constantly have this question under discussion with our E.E.C. colleagues. I have already indicated that we are considering this matter in relation to general harmonisation. I do not want to go any further than that now.