§ 3.14 p.m.
§ LORD NUGENT OF GUILDFORDMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government to state whether, in view of the limited scope of the earlier tests, arrangements are being made to conduct any further research on a more extensive scale to check the accuracy of the breath-testing equipment used by the police to enforce the new drink and driving laws or to approve the use of other breath-testing equipment which may be more accurate than the equipment used at present.]
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, the breath-testing device at present in use by the police was fully tested before it was approved by my right honourable friend the Home Secretary for the purposes of the Road Safety Act 1967. I welcome this opportunity of pointing out that it is open to manufacturers at any time to submit breath-testing devices for the Home Secretary's approval, which will be given to any device that reaches a satisfactory standard of reliability.
§ LORD NUGENT OF GUILDFORDMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his reply to my Question. May I ask him whether he remembers that the information which he gave us on the Home Office tests earlier in the year covered only 77 tests? Is he aware that expert opinion was most surprised that the Home Office was satisfied by such a limited sample of tests when these testing machines must deal with many tens of thousands of cases in a year? Further, is the noble Lord aware that, in the light of that limitation, it seems desirable to have more extensive tests?
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, the actual tests are more extensive than the figure of 77 which the noble Lord rightly mentioned. Three hundred devices are taken from the manufacturer who submits them for approval, and they are tested by means of random sampling. Of the first 300 samples of the device that was approved, 75 per cent. were in fact 150 used. Any manufacturer who submits a device for approval must submit 300 devices, 300 samples for testing. We have so far had five different devices submitted, all of which have had to be rejected because they were not of a satisfactory standard of reliability. I agree that they must be carefully tested. They have been, and they will continue to be.
§ LORD NUGENT OF GUILDFORDMy Lords, may I thank the noble Lord for explaining the Home Office approach in this matter? May I thank him, too, for giving us this information on this interim report, and also for undertaking to keep us fully in the picture as further information comes to hand?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, may I ask a supplementary Question? Is the noble Lord aware that breathalysers are being placed on the market at the present time? Is he able to say whether those breathalysers have already received the approval of the Home Secretary, so far as their pattern is concerned?
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, only one breathalyser has so far been approved by my right honourable friend, and that is the one which is now in use by police forces. I think the others to which the noble Lord referred are odd things which are supplied in all sorts of ways. Most certainly they have not been approved by my right honourable friend, nor, so far as I am aware, by anyone else.