§ 9.4 p.m.
§ The Lord ChancellorMy Lords, I have it in command from Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to acquaint the House that they, having been informed of the purport of the Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Bill, have consented to place their prerogatives and interests, so far as they are affected by the Bill, at the disposal of Parliament for the purposes of the Bill.
§ Bill read a third time.
§ Clause 1 [Abolition of special licences for driving HGVs and PSVs]:
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Transport (Lord Brabazon of Tara) moved Amendment No. 1:
§ Page 2, line 16, after ("of ") insert ("Part I of ").
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, I beg to move Amendment No. 1 and, with the leave of the House, to speak also to Amendments Nos. 2, 5 to 11 inclusive and 13 to 17 inclusive.
§ These amendments insert a new Part II into Schedule 1 to the Bill. The new part has two functions. Paragraph 10 enables PSV drivers to take up their profession once they have passed the appropriate test, and paragraph 11 removes a potential impediment to the smooth transition to the new system. I shall deal with these aspects separately.
§ During the debate at Report stage I undertook to introduce an amendment at this time to enable PSV drivers to commence driving public service vehicles immediately on passing the appropriate test. These amendments are to meet the concerns expressed by my noble friends Lord Teviot and Lord Shrewsbury. As the House will recall, they were concerned at the delay in getting bus drivers who had passed the necessary tests into effective service on behalf of their employers. Although my noble friends accept that the problem will disappear when the new system proposed in the Bill comes into force in 1991 they feel this is too long to expect the bus companies to wait. They proposed that steps should be taken to resolve the problem in the interim. The new paragraph 10 and the consequential amendments are intended to achieve this.
§ The new provision will ensure that PSV drivers are able to begin driving professionally once they have passed the appropriate test. The individuals concerned will be required to make their application for a full PSV licence in advance of the test so that their health and previous conduct can be checked before they start carrying passengers. This is clearly essential in the interests of road safety. The time by which the application must be made and the duration of the entitlement to drive on the strength of a test pass certificate will be set out in regulations.
§ A driver who takes the test without giving the required notice or after his application has been refused will commit a criminal offence. Any test taken in such circumstances will be of no effect. The 427 amendments also specify that the offences are open to conditional offer in Scotland. It is our intention to bring the provision into force and to make the necessary regulations as soon as possible once the Bill is enacted. It will then operate until the new system comes into effect, when it will be superseded by the new arrangements.
§ The new paragraph 11 is intended to facilitate a smooth transition to the new system. It is proposed to phase in the issue of new harmonised licences commencing with licences relating to ordinary motor car entitlement in June 1990. The fully integrated licences showing vocational as well as ordinary entitlement should come on stream in January 1991. This amendment is needed to ensure that those vocational drivers holding a new style ordinary and a vocational licence in the existing format may continue to drive professionally until they receive the fully integrated licence. Both paragraphs 10 and 11 are transitory. They will not be needed when the new licensing system is fully operational. Amendments Nos. 16 and 17 allow them to be repealed when they are no longer needed. I beg to move.
§ Lord UnderhillMy Lords, I supported immediately the amendment moved in Committee by the noble Lord, Lord Teviot. Therefore I am very pleased to see this amendment now on the Marshalled List. When the Minister said on Report that he would be introducing an amendment, we knew he meant to do so. We are very pleased to see the text of the amendment here.
I was also pleased to hear the Minister say tonight that the Government will bring this provision into effect as soon as possible when the Bill becomes law. That will be a great encouragement to quite a number of operators whom I know would have been worried if the amendment had not been tabled. I readily support the amendment and thank the Minister for carrying out his pledge.
§ Lord TeviotMy Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Underhill, and to my noble friend the Minister for the way they have handled the amendment. I think that has been extremely successful. I also pay tribute to the officials who have worked on this very complicated set of amendments, in particular for the way in which they considered the medical aspect. That aspect was drawn to our attention on Report. It has been dealt with and I am sure that will enhance the legislation. My noble friend Lord Shrewsbury wishes to say a few words. I do not wish to stand in his way so I shall give way now.
§ The Earl of ShrewsburyMy Lords, my noble friend the Minister has produced an amendment which covers nearly all the points raised by my noble friend Lord Teviot and myself both in Committee and on Report. I am most grateful to my noble friend Lord Teviot for producing the amendment at those stages, and to my noble friend the Minister and his officials for all the help they have given us.
The amendment of my noble friend the Minister has helped the whole PSV industry to a very great 428 degree. For that the industry itself is most grateful. The amendment will save the public service vehicle industry a great deal of money. It will also make great economies in time wasted and money invested. It will produce a much greater factor of efficiency within the industry. I, my noble friend Lord Teviot and the industry appreciate the great co-operation afforded to my noble friend and I by the Department of Transport, the Minister and his officials.
§ Lord Brabazon of TaraMy Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Underhill, and to my noble friends for their reception of these amendments. If one counts up, it has taken some 14 amendments to achieve the object of the exercise. My noble friend attempted to achieve that objective in one amendment at a previous stage of the Bill. My officials will be very grateful for the words which have been expressed about their having done that. I believe the provision will improve the situation. As I said, we intend to introduce it as soon as possible once the Bill receives Royal Assent.
There are a couple of issues which need to be addressed and which will be addressed in the regulations. We shall need to consult with the industry on those issues. I refer to what I might call the before and after periods. We have it in mind that the time allowed for driving on a test pass should be limited to one month. I think that is acceptable to my noble friends. We have a similar period in mind for the length of notice to be given to the Traffic Commissioners. As I said, we shall discuss this with interested parties before the regulations are made. I am grateful for what has been said. I beg to move.
§ On Question, amendment agreed to.
§ Lord Brabazon of Tara moved Amendment No. 2:
§ Page 2, line 19, at end insert ("and the transitory provisions of Part II of that Schedule shall also have effect.").
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, I have already spoken to this amendment. I beg to move.
§ On Question, amendment agreed to.
§ Clause 8 [Definition of driver information systems etc.]:
§ Lord Brabazon of Tara moved Amendment No. 3:
§ Page 12, line 19, leave out ("such date") and insert ("data from which driver information is derived,").
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, this is a minor amendment to the drafting of part of the definition of "driver information system" in Clause 8(3). It does not have any effect on the legal meaning of the clause. I beg to move.
§ On Question, amendment agreed to.
§ Clause 10 [Operators' licences]:
§ 9.15 p.m.
§ Lord Underhill moved Amendment No. 4:
§
Page 14, line 44, at end insert—
("(9) The Secretary of State may by regulation specify additional requirements in relation to the granting of an operator's licence.
429
(10) The regulations referred to in subsection (9) above may cover—
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, the amendment relates to Part II of the Bill dealing with the driver information system. It is designed to provide the Secretary of State with power to make regulations covering the procedures for issuing and imposing conditions on an operator's licence. For example, the amendment would require an operator to consult with the appropriate local highway and police authorities on the network for inclusion in an Autoguide system. It could give local highway authorities the right to be consulted by the Secretary of State before he or she issues an operators' licence. It could also require an operator to make arrangements with the local highway authority on the exchange of information.
§ At earlier stages of the Bill on behalf of the Opposition I made clear that we fully support the principle of the driver information system as outlined in the Bill. That view was supported by the Association of Metropolitan Authorities, of which I have the honour to be president, and by the other local authority associations. However, at the same time serious concern was expressed about the potential road safety implications of an Autoguide system. That concern was shared by the local authority associations and road safety organisations such as RoSPA and the Parliamentary Advisory Committee for Transport Safety. There is a fear that unless local highway authorities have the ability to influence the shape of the driver information system network, traffic will be directed along inappropriate roads with potentially dangerous consequences.
§ A series of amendments to Clause 10 was tabled at Committee and Report stages. They were designed primarily to control the type of road down which vehicles could be directed, either by a provision on the face of the Bill or by statutory involvement of highway authorities; to prevent any further operator licences being issued until the proposed trials have been completed in order to ensure that the lessons from the trials are reflected in future licences; and to ensure that agreements are reached between the operator and highway authorities on the exchange of information.
§ It will be seen that the present amendment is different in character and purpose from those earlier amendments. This amendment contains no reference to trial schemes or to their monitoring. It will be recalled that in response to those earlier amendments the Minister argued that they would involve the imposition of an unacceptable and unnecessary level of bureaucracy on the operators. He assured the House that operators would talk voluntarily to local highway authorities and that any problems would be resolved in that context, the Secretary of State having the power if necessary to impose conditions on the operators' licence.
430§ The Minister painted a very reassuring picture. He also assured the House that the proposed pilot schemes are genuine pilot schemes, that they will be properly monitored and the lessons taken on board. There is not the slightest reason to doubt the Minister's assurances. However, the problem is that under the provisions of the Bill as drafted the Secretary of State would not have the ability to respond to some possible outcomes of the pilot schemes.
§ For example, say the pilot schemes revealed that operators had not voluntarily respected genuine local highway authority concerns about the route network, that road safety problems were emerging as a result and that the Secretary of State did not have sufficient local knowledge to use his power to impose conditions on the licence. What could the Secretary of State do? The Bill does not provide for any statutory local highway authority involvement. What could the Secretary of State do if the pilot schemes showed that the Government's hope that authorities and operators would agree voluntary arrangements on the exchange of information had not materialised? He would not have the power to compel operators to reach an agreement with highway authorities.
§ Under the terms of the amendment that I am now putting forward, if the Government are shown to be correct, the Secretary of State need do nothing at all. The regulation-making powers would be held in reserve and no burden would be imposed on the operators. However, if on the contrary the concerns of the local authority associations and the road safety organisations do materialise, the Secretary of State would have power to act. The existence of the reserve powers would also play an important role in encouraging operators voluntarily to reach agreement with highway authorities in order to ensure that the Secretary of State did not have to issue regulations. Therefore it can be seen that this amendment will not in any way make difficulties for the Secretary of State. It will give the Secretary of State a power which is not in the Bill; namely, the power to issue regulations on these matters should the need arise. If the need does not arise, the Secretary of State will not have to do anything at all. With that explanation I hope that the. Minister will find it possible to accept the amendment. I beg to move.
Lord MorrisMy Lords, I beseech your Lordships to look carefully at this amendment. It states clearly that:
The Secretary of State may by regulation specify additional requirements in relation to the granting of an operator's licence.The regulations…may cover…(d) any other matters the Secretary of State considers appropriate".I repeat those words: any other matters the Secretary of State considers appropriate. In his very moderate argument in support of the amendment the noble Lord, Lord Underhill, referred to powers which will enable the Secretary of State to encourage operators to take various actions. This amendment gives the Secretary of State the power to compel an operator to do whatever the Minister thinks fit. I find it quite astonishing that of all people Her Majesty's 431 Loyal Opposition should encourage government by edict, so to speak. For those reasons I believe that this amendment should be resisted.
§ Lord Brabazon of TaraMy Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Underhill, for explaining the purpose of this amendment. As he says, we have debated before the issue of consultation with the local highway authorities on the introduction of Autoguide and other driver information systems. As he explained, the amendment would enable the Secretary of State to make regulations in relation to the granting of an operator's licence. Paragraph (a) of the proposed subsection (10) would enable the regulations to cover consultations between the operator and relevant highway and police authorities. Paragraph (b) would provide for similar consultations by the Secretary of State. Both those provisions are unnecessary.
Under the Bill as it stands there is nothing to stop the Secretary of State from stipulating that all applicants for a licence must be able to demonstrate that they have consulted local highway authorities. If continuing consultation by the operator were required, that could be made a condition of his licence.
Similarly, there is no need for the Secretary of State to make regulations before he himself consults local authorities. My right honourable friend could do that any way if he considered it appropriate under the Bill as it stands.
I explained during our debate at Report stage why we considered that statutory consultation with highway authorities on the establishment of Autoguide was not appropriate. I made the point that in the London area out to the M.25, where the first commercial Autoguide scheme is likely to operate, there are no fewer than 39 local highway authorities. A statutory requirement to consult that number of authorities would, in our view, be likely to strangle Autoguide in a mass of red tape. In view of that, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State would almost certainly not wish to make use of a regulation-making power even if this amendment were incorporated into the Bill. If the Secretary of State were to decide at some future date—possibly in relation to a system other than Autoguide—that consultation was appropriate, he would, as I have indicated, be able to provide for that through the licensing mechanism contained in the Bill as it stands.
As I have previously said, a special working group, which will include representatives of the local authority associations and the police, is to be set up to make arrangements for monitoring the Autoguide pilot scheme. The pilot will provide an opportunity for examining what arrangements there should be for proper liaison among operators, highway authorities and other organisations. The legislation already gives the Secretary of State powers under the licensing arrangements to do what the amendment proposes—should that be thought necessary in the light of experience with the pilot scheme. I think that that is a point on which I disagree with the noble Lord, Lord Underhill; the Bill provides those powers. For 432 these reasons I am afraid that, however much I should like to be able to say "yes" during our last debate on this question, we cannot accept this amendment.
I now turn to paragraph (c) of the proposed new subsection. This would provide for regulation of the exchange of information between the operator and relevant highway authorities. As I have indicated before, we felt that there is undoubtedly considerable scope for the exchange of information between local highway authorities and operators of driver information systems. To take an example, the two parties might agree that the operator could receive from the highway authority details of road works, road closures and so on; and in return, the highway authority would receive details of journey times and delays at junctions as recorded by equipped vehicles.
Having said that, we feel strongly that this is not an appropriate matter for regulation by the Secretary of State. I have already mentioned the prospect of an Autoguide operation covering the territory of nearly 40 local highway authorities. Each of those authorities may well have different requirements for information. They may also—depending on their administrative arrangements—vary in terms of the information which they could provide to an operator. Regulations which were appropriate to one authority could well be inappropriate to others.
The reference in the amendment to "exchange" implies that there would be no charge for information, either by operators or highway authorities. But it is surely not for the Secretary of State, as a third party, to decree that this information is of equal value to that information and must be freely exchanged. These matters should be settled by free negotiation between the parties directly involved—that is, operators and local highway authorities. We can foresee an administrative nightmare in attempting to devise and operate such regulations.
Finally, the amendment provides for regulations to cover "any other matters the Secretary of State considers appropriate", and my noble friend Lord Morris raised this point. This would be far to wide a power. It might be taken as enabling the Secretary of State to impose requirements on persons other than licence holders. It would virtually amount to saying that the Government need not worry if they have forgotten to put something in the Bill because they can introduce it by means of secondary legislation. I fancy that the noble Lord, Lord Underhill, and indeed other noble Lords, would have had something to say if that sweeping power had been proposed as a government amendment. I was not able to be present at Question Time today but I gather that that particular subject was touched upon then.
The noble Lord, Lord Underhill, raised the issue of road safety, and indeed I hope that the noble Lord recognises that the Government are extremely concerned about road safety issues. If local road safety issues arose these would no doubt be reported to the Secretary of State, and Clause 11(2) gives the Secretary of State power to amend or even revoke an operator's licence where there is a danger to the public.
433 For all these reasons I am afraid that we cannot accept the amendment. I hope, however, that the noble Lord, Lord Underhill, will be reassured by the fact that, on the question of consultation with highway authorities and the police, the Bill as drafted already gives the Secretary of State the powers that the noble Lord seeks in this amendment.
§ Lord UnderhillMy Lords, may I, without taking too much time, reply to one or two of the points raised? I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Morris, that in certain circumstances we would certainly query giving the Secretary of State these wide powers. But, in the light of the discussions we had at Committee and Report stages, certain assurances have been given by the Minister and we are prepared to abide by those assurances. We also had long discussions on the various points of importance in the guidelines for Autoguide.
It will be noted that I have made no reference to all highway authorities but to relevant highway authorities. It may be desirable to contact all 39 in a given area, and those words were chosen rather carefully in order to avoid the criticism made about our amendment at Report stage. I am interested to learn again about the working party that is to be set up.
Although the Minister said that the question of safety could be covered by Clause 11(2), when I look at Clause 11(2), I see that it says:
The Secretary of State shall not revoke or suspend a licence for breach of a condition unless he is satisfied that owing to—That does not cover the points that I made in moving the amendment. Some further clarification has been given on the points, which I am happy to have. I am sure that when the working party is set up the local authority associations will take great care to note what the Minister has said.the licence should be revoked or suspended.".
- (a) the frequency of the breach of conditions,
- (b) the intentional nature of the breach, or
- (c) the danger to the public involved in the breach,
At this late stage I have no alternative or desire to do other than beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ Schedule 1 [Existing HGV and PSV Drivers' Licences]:
§ Lord Brabazon of Tara moved Amendments Nos. 5 to 11:
§ Page 18, line 2, at end insert ("PART I").
§ Page 18, line 5, after ("this") insert ("Part of this").
§ Page 18, line 31, after ("this") insert ("Part of this").
§ Page 21, line 33, after ("this") insert ("Part of this").
§ Page 21, line 38, after ("this") insert ("Part of this").
§ Page 22, line 1, after ("this") insert ("Part of this").
§ Page 22, line 32, at end insert—
§ ("PART II
§ TRANSITORY PROVISIONS
§ 10.—(1) Notwithstanding section 22(1) of the 1981 Act but subject to sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) below, a person may drive, or be employed to drive, a public service vehicle on a road without being the holder of a licence if—
- (a) he had made an application for the grant of a licence, and
- (b) he has passed the test of competence to drive.
§ (2) The authority conferred by sub-paragraph (1) above shall extend only for the prescribed period.
§ (3) In the event of the applicant's being refused the grant of a licence, the authority conferred by sub-paragraph (1) above shall cease to have effect as from the date on which he is notified of the refusal.
§ (4) A person who, for the purposes of an application for the grant of a licence, takes the test of competence to drive—
- (a) before the application is made, or
- (b) within the prescribed period beginning with the date on which the application was made,
§ (5) A person who, after the refusal of his application for a licence, takes a test of competence to drive arranged for the purposes of his application, is guilty of an offence and the test shall be of no effect.
§ (6) The Secretary of State may make regulations for prescribing anything which may be prescribed under this paragraph and the power is exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
§ (7) In this paragraph—
- "licence" means a licence under section 22 of the 1981 Act to drive public service vehicles;
- "test of competence to drive" means the test of competence to drive prescribed for the purposes of subsection (3) of that section;
§ 11. Notwithstanding section 87 of the 1988 Act, a person who is the holder of a licence to drive motor vehicles granted under Part III of that Act and coming into force on or after 1st June 1990 and is also the holder of—
- (a) a licence under Part IV of that Act to drive heavy goods vehicles of any class, or
- (b) a licence under section 22 of the 1981 Act to drive public service vehicles of any class,
§ On Question, amendments agreed to.
§ Schedule 2 [Provisions inserted in Road Traffic Act 1988]:
§ Lord Brabazon of Tara moved Amendment No.12:
§ Page 27, line 7, after ("115") insert ("or 116(4)").
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, this is a drafting amendment which provides that drivers whose licences are revoked or suspended under new Section 116(4) in Schedule 2 to the Bill have a right of appeal to a magistrates' or sheriff's court. I beg to move.
§ On Question, amendment agreed to.
§ Schedule 3 [Driving Licences: Minor, Consequential and Further Amendments]:
§ Lord Brabazon of Tara moved Amendment No. 13:
§
Page 30, line 6, at beginning insert—
(". In section 87 of the 1988 Act (drivers obliged to have licences), at the end, there shall be inserted the following subsection—
(3) This section is subject to paragraph 11 of Schedule 1 to the road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989." ").
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, I spoke to Amendment No. 13 when moving Amendment No. 1. I beg to move.
§ On Question, amendment agreed to.
§ The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Strabolgi)My Lords, I should inform the House that there are identical printing errors in Amendments Nos. 14 and 15. Both should read as follows in column 1:
'RTA 1989, Schedule 1, paragraph 10(4).'
§ Lord Brabazon of Tara moved Amendments Nos. 14 and 15.
§ Page 37, line 11, at end insert —
| ("RTA 1989, Schedule 1, para 10(4). | Taking PSV test before applying for licence or within prescribed period afterwards. | Summarily. | Level 3 on the standard. scale | — | — | — | |
| RTA 1989, Schedule 1, para. 10(5). | Taking PSV test after refusal of licence. | Summarily. | Lever 3 on the standard scale. | — | — | — | "") |
§ Page 37, line 37, at end insert—
| ("RTA 1989 Schedule 1, para 10(4). | Taking PSV test before applying for licence or within prescribed period afterwards. |
| RTA 1989, Schedule 1, para 10(5). | Taking PSV test after refusal of licence.""). |
§ On Question, amendments agreed to.
§ Schedule 6 [Repeals]:
§ Lord Brabazon of Tara moved Amendments Nos. 16 and 17:
§ Page 41, line 47, column 3, at beginning insert ("Section 87(3)").
§ Page 42, line 37, at end insert —
| ("1989 c. | Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989. | In Schedule 1— (a) paragraph 10, (b) paragraph 11."). |
§ On Question, amendments agreed to.
§ An amendment (privilege) made.
§ 9.34 p.m.
§ Lord Brabazon of TaraMy Lords, I beg to move that the Bill do now pass.
I hope your Lordships will agree that we can look back on the past three months' work on the Bill with some satisfaction. We have had four sessions of constructive debate, in which we have explored some serious issues and made some valuable improvements to the Bill. The contributions made by your Lordships throughout the debate on Part I of the Bill show that our proposals for establishing a new, 436 integrated driver licensing system in Great Britain are widely welcomed. They show also the keen interest that the House takes in driver licensing and the recognition of its importance in terms of road safety.
Amendments were invariably put forward in a spirit of helpfulness to improve the provisions or to add new features. My noble friends Lord Teviot and Lord Shrewsbury sought to ensure that PSV drivers were able to take up their profession as soon as they passed the appropriate test without waiting for their licence and badge from the traffic commissioner. The new system will provide this from 1991.
At first we were not convinced that any amendments were necessary. My noble friends rapidly convinced us that their arguments inside and outside the House were what can best be described as vigorous. I am delighted to have been able to bring forward amendments today to meet their concerns.
The noble Lords, Lord Underhill and Lord Carmichael of Kelvingrove, have played a major part, as always in a most courteous and constructive way, in improving the Bill. Thanks to their persuasive arguments, we have made worthwhile changes to the provisions for the testing of motor cyclists and for the introduction of driver information systems. I am particularly pleased to have been able to bring forward amendments to ensure that Autoguide and similar systems could not be used to track the movements of individual drivers without their knowledge. That was a very important point which, but for the noble Lord, Lord Underhill, might have gone unnoticed.
I hesitate to mention by name other noble Lords who have spoken in our debates. There have been a great many thoughtful and often amusing contributions. They have also helped to ensure that our work has been in the best traditions of this House. We may have had our disagreements, but they have not spoilt the constructive way in which your Lordships have considered the Bill. For that and for the improvements which have been made to the Bill, I thank all noble Lords who have contributed.
§ Moved, That the Bill do now pass.—(Lord Brabazon of Tara.)
§ Lord UnderhillMy Lords, I echo what the Minister has said about the way in which the Bill has been dealt with by noble Lords from all parts of the House. I said at Second Reading that this was a completely non-political Bill and that we should be considering it from the point of view of improving the working of the licensing system and the driver information system. As the noble Lord, Lord Brabazon, has said, I believe we have made some improvements.
The Minister has outlined some of the improvements that have been secured through our deliberations. I shall not go over them again, but they are important amendments. As far as I can gather motor cycling bodies generally approve the proposals in the Bill and the improvements that have been made for compulsory motor cycle training. I know that they are waiting with keen interest the regulations which have to be made as a result of the various issues that arise in the Bill.
437 The Autoguide system reminds me —I hope it reminds other noble Lords —that at Second Reading I drew attention to an opportunity that was missed to bring in some of the recommendations of the Home report on street utilities and public works. I hope that now we are to have the Autoguide system, in which street works can play a very important part, it will not be long before we have a Bill which will incorporate the proposals in the report.
In conclusion, may I say, as always, how much I and other noble Lords appreciate the courtesy with which the Minister has dealt with all the points that have arisen, even when he has disagreed with us quite strongly. I appreciate that on certain issues he has gone out of his way to write letters to explain either points of difference or what he intended to do at the next stage of the Bill. I am sure we are all grateful to him for that. I readily support the Motion that the Bill do now pass.
§ Lord TeviotMy Lords, I concur with every word that the noble Lord, Lord Underhill, has said about my noble friend. I am grateful to my noble friend for accepting my group of amendments.
This important Bill has been introduced in your Lordships' House first and I hope that we shall be able to consider early other important Bills to which we can give our attention, thus ensuring that we have less congestion in June and July.
§ Lord RochesterMy Lords, I hesitate to speak for I played no part at all in the passage of the Bill. On these Benches we are in general agreement with the contents of the Bill and are happy that it should now pass. I join the noble Lords. Lord Underhill and Lord Teviot, in thanking the noble Lord, Lord Brabazon of Tara, for the courteous way in which he has piloted the Bill through the House.
§ Lord Brabazon of TaraMy Lords, I am most grateful to noble Lords who have spoken on the Motion that the Bill do now pass. I say briefly, because the hour is now rather later than we expected, that the noble Lord, Lord Underhill, pressed us to legislate on the Home report. I hope as well that we shall be able to do so before too long.
My noble friend Lord Teviot referred to possible congestion in this House later in the Session. I hope that when the Autoguide comes to fruition it will relieve congestion in London. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Rochester, for his remarks.
§ On Question, Bill passed, and sent to the Commons.