§ 19. Mr. Newtonasked the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to reform the licensing system operated by the Traffic Commissioners.
§ Mr. HoramWe do not see any present need for changes in the road service licensing system following those that we made so recently in the Transport Act 1978.
§ Mr. NewtonAssuming that the Minister accepts that in many rural areas there is already something of a transport crisis, does he agree that there is a real case for a further relaxation that would give private operators a better chance to introduce new services?
§ Mr. HoramNo, I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman. It is important to make the relaxations that we have already introduced work. The Government have done a great deal for those who live in rural areas and have transport problems. We have been thwarted from time to time by obdurate Conservative-controlled country councils, but our record is a good one.
§ Mr. Norman FowlerDoes the hon. Gentleman agree that my hon. Friend the Member for Braintree (Mr. Newton) is correct? Is not the true position that the cost and delay of the traffic commissioner process dissuades new private operators from entering the market? Surely it is in the public interest that we encourage, especially in rural areas, new private operators and new services to develop.
§ Mr. HoramWe should encourage new services to develop. That is precisely what it is proposed the Transport Act will do, and what it will do if it is allowed time to work properly. The hon. Gentleman exaggerates the cost and difficulty of submitting proposals for new services to the commissioners.