§ 7. Mr. Chapmanasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will report progress in preparing legislation to implement the second European Community directive on motor insurance requiring compulsory insurance for third party injury and property damage.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. Michael Spicer)At the request of some organisations, we extended by six weeks the consultation deadline of 31 December. A number of points still have to be sorted out before we can bring considered proposals to the House for extending compulsory motor insurance to include third party property damage.
§ Mr. ChapmanI am grateful for that encouraging reply. Will my hon. Friend assure the House that he will seek amending legislation well before the end of 1988? Since the directive explicitly gives uniform minimum protection to third parties in motor accidents, but implicitly encourages more than the minimum protection, will my hon. Friend look sympathetically at the need for our legislation to be much tighter than that laid down in the directive?
§ Mr. SpicerMy hon. Friend has taken a close interest in this matter over a long time. He is right in implying that the legislation will not have to come into effect until 1988, according to the directive. Our intention is to bring the necessary secondary legislation before Parliament during the present Session.
My hon. Friend asked about the possibility of raising our conditions above the minimum. We are consulting about that at the moment, and we shall take into account what my hon. Friend said.