§ 14. Mr. Iremongerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what effect the restriction of hours worked by lorry drivers has had on parking problems in urban residential areas.
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsI have no evidence to show what effect these restrictions have had.
§ Mr. IremongerWill my hon. Friend look into this matter and consider some amending legislation to enable lorry drivers to use their common sense to get to a proper place to park, so relieving private families of this intolerable intrusion on their privacy in private streets?
§ Mr. GriffithsWith the help of chief constables, a working party on lorry parking is now carrying out counts of lorries parked at night in streets and on derelict land. Once we have the results of those counts, we shall be able to make a judgment of the problem. The whole question of lorry drivers' hours is a matter at which my right hon. Friends are looking.
§ Mr. James JohnsonWill the hon. Gentleman accept that this is not merely a matter of parks, security, and so on but, just as important, of the working hours of drivers and where they stay overnight? Will he give attention to this matter of getting decent hostels where lorry drivers can get bed and breakfast after long hours at the wheel when they come to towns like Hull and Liverpool?
§ Mr. GriffithsI understand the hon. Gentleman's concern. I wish that he had shown it when his right hon. and hon. Friends were putting these hours through the House.
§ 15. Mr. Iremongerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the outcome of his special study of lorry parking problems in the North-West of England; and what account is being taken of the Greater London Council's experimental scheme to ban overnight parking of goods vehicles from specific streets in a limited zone of Greater London.
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsWe expect to receive an interim report from the Working Party shortly. I understand the Greater London Council intend to introduce their scheme in Tower Hamlets soon.
§ Mr. IremongerHow soon can private families and homes in Ilford expect to be relieved of this invasion?
§ Mr. GriffithsThis is a matter for the Greater London Council.
§ Mr. Arthur LewisThe hon. Gentleman has spoken about chief constables examining this matter. Do not police constables already have powers to stop obstruction and unnecessary parking? When it comes to working-class areas, where there are narrow roads and streets, the police seem to take no action, even when requested. If it is in Berkeley Square or Downing Street, they do not allow lorries to park. Why is it they do not take action in working-class areas where there are narrow streets and there is obstruction, when they prevent this kind of parking in more salubrious neigh-bourhoods like Chelsea?
§ Mr. GriffithsIt is for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to deal with those allegations against the police—
§ Mr. GriffithsFor my part, I reject at once the suggestion that our police discriminate against any section of the community.