HL Deb 14 November 1933 vol 89 cc337-44

TRAFFIC AREAS IN ENGLAND.

1. Northern Traffic Area.

The administrative counties of Cumberland, Durham, Northumberland and Westmorland.

So much of the administrative county of Lancaster as comprises the urban districts of Dalton-in-Furness, Grange, and Ulversten, and the rural district of Ulverston.

So much of the administrative county of York, North Riding, as comprises the boroughs of Redcar, Richmond, and Thornaby-on-Tees, the urban districts of Eston, Guisborough, Loftus, Northallerton, Saltburn, and Skelton and Brotton, and the rural districts of Croft, Northallerton, Reeth, Richmond, Startforth, and Stokesley.

So much of the administrative county of York, West Riding, as comprises the rural district of Sedburgh.

The county boroughs of Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Darlington, Gateshead, Middlesbrough, Newcastle - upon - Tyne, South Shields, Sunderland, Tynemouth and West Hartlepool.

2. Yorkshire Traffic Area.

The administrative county of York, East Riding.

The administrative counties of York, North Riding, and York, West Riding (except the portions of those counties included in the Northern Traffic Area).

So much of the administrative county of Derby as comprises the borough of Chesterfield, the urban districts of Baslow and Bubnell, Bolsover, Brampton and Walton, Clay Cross and Dronfield, the rural districts of Blackwell (except the parishes of South Normanton and Pinxton), Chesterfield, Clown (except the parish of Whit-well), and Norton, and so much of the rural district of Bakewell as lies north of and includes the road between Baslow and Chapel-en-le-Frith, via Calver and Peak Forest.

So much of the administrative county of Nottingham as comprises the parish of Finningley in the rural district of East Retford and the parish of Harworth in the rural district of Worksop.

The county boroughs of Barnsley, Bradford, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Halifax, Huddersfield, Kingston - upon - Hull, Leeds, Rotherham, Sheffield, Wakefield and York

3. North-Western Traffic Area.

The administrative counties of Anglesey, Caernarvon, Chester, Denbigh, Flint, Merioneth and Montgomery.

The administrative county of Lancaster (except the portion included in the Northern Traffic Area).

So much of the administrative county of Derby as comprises the boroughs of Buxton and Glossop, the urban district of New Mills, and the rural districts of Chapel-en-le-Frith, Glossop Dale and Hayfield

The county boroughs of Blackburn, Blackpool, Birkenhead, Bolton, Bootle, Burnley, Bury, Chester, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale, St. Helens, Salford, Southport, Stockport, Wallasey, Warrington and Wigan.

4. West Midland Traffic Area.

The administrative counties of Hereford, Salop, Stafford, Warwick and Worcester. The county boroughs of Birmingham, Burton - upon - Trent, Coventry, Dudley, Smethwick, Stoke-on-Trent, Walsall, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton and Worcester.

5. East Midland Traffic Area.

The administrative counties of Leicester, Northampton, Oxford, Rutland, the Parts of Kesteven and the Parts of Lindsey.

The administrative counties of Bucks (except the portion included in the Metropolitan Traffic Area), Derby (except the portions included in the Yorkshire Traffic Area and the North Western Traffic Area), Nottingham (except the portion included in the Yorkshire Traffic Area) and the Parts of Holland (except the portion included in the Eastern Traffic Area).

So much of the administrative county of Bedford as lies outside the Metropolitan Traffic Area and south-west of and includes the road from Dunstable to Fenny Stratford (Holyhead Road).

So much of the administrative county of Berks as lies north of and includes the road from Oxford to Gloucester, via Eynsham.

So much of the administrative county of the Soke of Peterborough as lies north-west of and includes the road from Stamford to Kettering, via Duddington.

The county boroughs of Derby, Grimsby, Leicester, Lincoln, Northampton, Nottingham, and Oxford.

6. Eastern Traffic Area.

The administrative counties of Cambridge, the Isle of Ely, Huntingdon, Norfolk, East Suffolk, and West Suffolk.

The administrative counties of Bedford (except the portions included in the East Midland Traffic Area and the Metropolitan Traffic Area), Essex (except the portion included in the Metropolitan Traffic Area), and the Soke of Peterborough (except the portion included in the East Midland Traffic Area).

So much of the administrative county of the Parts of Holland as lies south-east of the River Glen from the county boundary to its junction with the River Welland and of the River Welland from that point to the sea.

The county boroughs of Great Yarmouth, Ipswich, Norwich, and Southend-on-Sea.

7. South Wales Traffic Area.

The administrative counties of Brecon, Cardigan, Carmarthen, Glamorgan, Monmouth, Pembroke and Radnor.

The county boroughs of Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, and Swansea.

8. Western Traffic Area.

The administrative counties of Cornwall, Devon, Gloucester, Somerset, and Wiltshire.

The administrative county of Dorset (except the portion included in the South-Eastern Traffic Area).

So much of the administrative county of Southampton as lies north-west of and includes the road from Salisbury to Bland-ford.

The county boroughs of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Gloucester and Plymouth.

9.South-Eastern Traffic Area.

The administrative county of the Isle of Wight.

The administrative counties of Kent, Surrey, East Sussex, and West Sussex (except the portions of those counties included in the Metropolitan Traffic Area), Berks (except the portion included in the East Midland Traffic Area), and Southampton (except the portion included in the Western Traffic Area).

So much of the administrative county of Dorset as comprises the borough of Poole and the urban district of Wimborne Minster and so much as lies south of and includes the road from Ringwood to Wimborne Minster, via Ferndown.

The county boroughs of Bournemouth, Brighton, Canterbury, Eastbourne, Hastings, Portsmouth, Reading and Southampton.

10. Metropolitan Traffic Area.

The London Passenger Transport Area as constituted by the London Passenger Transport Act, 1933, with the addition of such parts of the London Traffic Area, as constituted by the London Traffic Act, 1924, and of the administrative county of Hertford, of the Borough of Chopping Wycombe in the county of Buckingham, of the boroughs of Dunstable and Luton in the county of Bedford, of the urban district of Wrotham in the county of Kent, of the urban district of East Grinstead in the county of East Sussex, and of the urban district of Horsham in the county of West Sussex, as lie outside the London Passenger Transport Area as so constituted.")

The noble Marquess said: This is the Schedule referred to in the new clause relating to the variations of traffic areas which has already been passed by the House. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 45, line 1, at end insert the said new First Schedule.—(The Marquess of Londonderry.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

First Schedule:

FIRST SCHEDULE.
Representative Members of Transport Advisory Council.
Interests. Number of Representatives.
Railways … … 2
Coastwise shipping … … 1
Labour … … 3

VISCOUNT KNUTSFOEDmoved an Amendment to give the railways four representatives instead of two. The noble Viscount said: I venture to submit that the present constitution of the Transport Advisory Council will not permit of a fair balance being obtained. The representation of the railways is hardly adequate or fair. The function of the Transport Advisory Council will be to advise on transport generally. The railways are the chief means of transport in this country, and although it must be admitted that many plums have been taken out of the railway bun, yet still the railways remain, and will remain for all time, as the bun—the most important means of transport in the country. Railways represent no less than eleven hundred million pounds invested. Users of mechanically-propelled vehicles will have five representatives on the Council. Judging by past experience we may anticipate that those five votes will be cast as one on any matters connected with mechanically - propelled vehicles. We suggest that if you give the railways four representatives on the Council that would be fairer. It would give one representative to each of the four main line railways. In view of the fact that there is an Amendment upon the Paper to increase the representation of the shipping interests by one to two, it is all the more important that the companies should have the increased representation which the Amendment proposes.

Amendment moved— Page 45, line 14, leave out ("Railways … 2") and insert ("Railways …4").—(Viscount Knutsford.)

THE MARQUESS OF LONDONDERRY

These Amendments which are on the Order Paper are for the purpose of increasing the representation of particular interests on the Transport Advisory Council. The suggestion of the noble Viscount is that the representation of the railways should be increased from two to four. The next Amendment proposes to increase from one to two the representation of shipping, and a third Amendment would increase from three to four the representation of labour. It must be remembered that the Council is to be appointed to give advice and assistance to the Minister in the discharge of his duties: it will not exercise any executive function, nothing will be statutorily dependent on its recommendations and the effectiveness of the presentation of different views will depend on the quality rather than the quantity of their representatives. Voting strength is not therefore a material consideration: what matters is the point of view. Moreover, if the Committee is to function effectively its numbers must be kept as low as possible. Already the Council will consist of twenty-seven members. It is with these considerations in view that the Government must approach any proposals to add additional members. The ground on which the noble Viscount who has moved this Amendment bases his contention is that the railways, consisting of four large groups, have not sufficient representation, but one has to realise that the point of view of the railways will on nearly every occasion be identical. Still, if I can persuade the noble Viscount to alter his Amendment to "three" instead of "four," the Government will be prepared to accept it.

VISCOUNT KNUTSFORD

Agreed, and I will so move my Amendment, substituting "three" for "four."

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Amendment moved— Page 45, line 14, leave out ("Railways. …2") and insert ("Railways.…3 ").—(Viscount Knutsford.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

LORD RHAYADERmoved to give coastwise shipping two representatives instead of one. The noble Lord said: The purpose of any Amendment is to secure two representatives for coastwise shipping interests, instead of one as in the Bill. I have good reason to hope that the Government will not be unwilling to accept this Amendment, and I therefore shall not trouble the Committee with a long argument. I want to say, however, that I think such an Amendment is really necessary, considering the large interests which the coastwise shipping has in the proper management of the internal traffic of the country. Therefore I think it is not unreasonable that it should have this representation, considering the magnitude of the interest involved. Moreover, the coastwise shipping is divided into two sections. There are the coastwise liners, running from port to port, and there are the coastwise tramps, which pick up cargoes wherever they can and go from one port to any other port. They are rivals and their interests are somewhat sharply divided. They are separately represented on the Chamber of Shipping, and therefore I am very much gratified that the Government is not unwilling to accept this Amendment. I only want to add that the shipping interest is extremely grateful to the Minister for the readiness with which he has listened to any suggestions that they had to make and the care taken not to do any injury to the services of the country.

Amendment moved— Page 45, line 17, leave out ("1") and insert ("2").—(Lord Rhayader.)

THE MARQUESS OF LONDONDERRY

This is accepted.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

THE EARL OF KINNOULLmoved to substitute "four" for "three" as the number of labour representatives. The noble Earl said: The object of my Amendment is to secure larger representation of labour. I know that in another place it was increased from two to three, but still we do not feel that three are enough for England; and in any case what about Scotland, which is not represented at all? I very much hope that the Government will accept my Amendment.

Amendment moved— Page 45, line 21, leave out ("3") and insert ("4").—(The Earl of Kinnoull.)

THE MARQUESS OF LONDONDERRY

I regret that I am unable to accept this Amendment. As the Bill was first introduced the number of representatives of labour was limited to two. In Committee my honourable friend accepted an Amendment increasing the representation to three, on the ground that the various labour interests involved, for example, the drivers and attendants of motor vehicles, dock labour, and the various railway unions, could not be adequately represented by two men. Three representatives should, however, be adequate, and on the ground which I ventured to put forward before, that it is not voting strength which we are considering at the present moment but capability and possibility of presenting different points of view, I think you will agree that three representatives of labour can well put forward their views.

THE EARL OF KINNOULL

I regret the noble Marquess cannot accept the Amendment, and I must ask that it be negatived.

On Question, Amendment negatived.

First Schedule, as amended, agreed to.

Second Schedule:

SECOND SCHEDULE.

Enactments repealed.
Session and Chapter. Short Title. Extent of Repeal.
20 & 21 Geo. 5. c.43. The Road Traffic Act 1930 Subsection (5) of Section forty-six and the Second Schedule.

THE MARQUESS OF LONDONDERRYmoved to leave out the reference in the third column to the Road Traffic Act, 1930, and insert ("Section twenty-five, subsection (5) of Section forty-six, Section one hundred and fourteen and the Second and Third Schedules"). The noble Marquess said: This Amendment amounts to the addition of Section 25 of the Road Traffic Act, 1930, and Section 114 of the same Act to the Repeal Schedule. The Amendment is rendered necessary by the new clause on "Power to prohibit or restrict the use of vehicles on certain bridges" and the new clause dealing with inquiries by the Minister.

Amendment moved— Page 47, line 6, in the third column, leave out lines 6 to 8 and insert the said new words.—(The Marquess of Londonderry.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Second Schedule, as amended, agreed to.

Title: An Act to make provision for regulating the carriage of goods on roads by motor vehicles and for controlling the use of vehicles on certain roads; to amend the provisions of the Road Traffic Act, 1930, relating to the wages, hours and other conditions of employment of persons employed in connection with certain motor vehicles; to amend the law relating to railways and to make provision for constituting a council to advise on questions in connection with the means of, and facilities for, transport; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.

LORD LUKEmoved, after the last "vehicles," to insert "and relating to payments to hospitals in respect of treatment consequent on injury arising out of the use of motor vehicles." The noble Lord said: This is consequential on the addition of tile new hospital clause.

Amendment moved— Line 8, after ("vehicles") insert ("and relating to payments to hospitals in respect of treatment consequent on injury arising out of the use of motor vehicles").—(Lord Luke.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Title, as amended, agreed to.