FUNCTIONS OF TRAFFIC WARDENS (SCOTLAND) ORDER 1971 (Hansard, 11 February 1971)

§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELVELVIE

My Lords, I beg to move that the Draft Functions of Traffic Wardens (Scotland) Order 1971 laid before the House on January 14 be approved. This Order was approved in another place on February 3. It is in similar terms to the Order applying to England and Wales which was approved in December of last year, and it extends and consolidates the functions of traffic wardens in Scotland.

Your Lordships will appreciate that the use of traffic wardens on certain duties can be of considerable assistance in relieving the pressure on the police, who are thereby free to concentrate on more serious traffic offences and on crime prevention and detection. The functions 322 traffic wardens may perform are specified by the Secretary of State by means of an Order subject to Affirmative Resolution in both Houses, but it is for the chief constable of each area to decide whether and on what duties they shall be employed.

As the road traffic wardens in our towns and cities have become more firmly established since their introduction to Scotland in 1962, their functions have been extended, first in 1966, when traffic wardens were allowed to direct and control moving traffic at road junctions and other places, and now in the Order before us to-day. At the same time we have taken the opportunity to consolidate all these functions in one Order. Accordingly, the Order provides a comprehensive list of what duties traffic wardens may be called upon to perform. The new functions proposed in the draft Order will enable chief police officers to employ traffic wardens to do the following things: to enforce the vehicle excise laws, to obtain the names and addresses of owners or drivers of cars where a traffic offence of a type with which traffic wardens are allowed to deal is believed to have been committed. It will also be an offence to disregard directions given by the traffic warden when directing traffic, and this applies to pedestrians as well as to road traffic. For this purpose traffic wardens will be able to obtain names and addresses of pedestrians.

My Lords, there are over 550 traffic wardens employed in Scotland to-day. In terms of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967, traffic wardens must be suitably trained before undertaking their duties, and chief constables have made the training arrangements which suit their particular circumstances. The police, the local authority associations and motoring interests have been consulted about the draft Order which has also been considered in the normal way by the Special Orders Committee of your Lordships' House. My Lords, I beg to move.