HL Deb 16 July 1998 vol 592 cc456-8

8.10 p.m.

Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 25th March be approved [26th Report from the Deregulation Committee].—(Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton.)

The noble Baroness said: My Lords, I beg to move the fourth Motion standing in the name of my noble friend Lady Hayman.

This proposal would change certain legislative provisions governing the issue of British driving licences. It would introduce some flexibility into the present arrangements for allowing drivers from certain other countries to exchange their licences for British ones without having to pass a British driving test. As well as saving the time and expense involved in passing a test, this would benefit some drivers by enhancing their availability for a wider range of employment.

The proposal concerns persons taking up residence here from a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA). At present, anyone coming to live here from outside the EEA may drive small vehicles for up to a year on their licence. Thereafter they must generally pass a British driving test to continue to have the right to drive, unless they hold a licence issued in a country which is designated by law for the purpose of exchange of licences. Once a country is so designated, its licences may be exchanged, as a matter of course, subject only to the holders meeting the normal British requirements on health and minimum ages.

The current provision for designating countries was first introduced in 1983 and has not been significantly amended since. It enables the Secretary of State to designate a country for exchange of licences, if satisfactory provision for the granting of licences to drive motor vehicles is made by the laws of that country. Of the criteria usually used to determine whether the provision is satisfactory, the principal one is whether the driving test is of comparable standard to the British test, although the arrangements for granting a licence are also important. Twelve countries have been designated to date.

The noble Lord, Lord Bowness, was kind enough to intimate in advance that he wishes to know how the proposal deals with countries made up of states which have separate administrations for driving licences. In such cases the standards in all states would have to be acceptable to allow the country to be considered as a candidate for designation. Should there be any further information or more detail that would be of help to the noble Lord, I shall be pleased to write to him.

The proposed order will remove the requirement that certain persons holding licences issued by a country outside the European Economic Area must pass a test in Great Britain so that, first, where a person holds a licence issued by a country which is not currently designated for exchange purposes, he need not pass a test if the Secretary of State is satisfied that his licence was properly issued or was at least properly issued in respect of some of his driving entitlements; and, secondly, where a person holds a licence which is issued by a country currently designated for exchange purposes and includes entitlement to drive some classes of goods or passenger-carrying vehicle, he need not pass a test in order to upgrade his entitlement to include those vehicles if the Secretary of State is satisfied his licence was properly issued in respect of them.

The protection of the general public will not be reduced by the proposed order. The proposal will remove a burden from what is likely to be a significant number of new residents, without compromising road safety interests. As such, I commend it to your Lordships.

Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 25th March be approved. [26th Report from the Deregulation Committee].—(Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton.)

Lord Ewing of Kirkford

My Lords, I have already asked my noble friend Lady Farrington two awkward questions. I know that this order is not about exchanging my driving licence for that of someone from Belgium, Germany or France. But I can understand that someone from those countries may want to exchange their driving licence for mine after 40 years offence-free driving in my case.

All I want to do at this time is to pay tribute to my noble friend Lady Farrington and to place on the record our appreciation of the way in which she dealt with these matters.

Lord Bowness

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for dealing with the question I raised before this evening's discussion. When she considers whether or not to write to me with further information, perhaps she will deal specifically with the question of countries that are organised on a federal basis. Does that mean that we could have a situation where licences issued by one of those states were acceptable for exchange, but licences issued by other states were not? Or are we saying that we have to wait for a situation where all the jurisdictions within that country issue licences on an acceptable basis before the country as a whole can be part of the order?

Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton

My Lords, my understanding is that in such a case the standards in all states would have to be acceptable to allow the country to be considered as a candidate. Should it be otherwise, I will write to the noble Lord.

Baroness Thomas of Walliswood

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her response, which will assist in settling one of our major worries in regard to this order.

I have no further objections. However, I should like to associate myself with the comments that have already been made. They do not surprise me because I know of the noble Baroness's competence from some time ago. Before I sit down, perhaps I can ask the noble Baroness to convey to her noble friend Lady Hayman our best wishes for her son.

Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas of Walliswood. My noble friend's son broke his wrist and obviously she wished to return home. If the answers have not been quite as comprehensive as they might have been, it is because I had inadequate time to brief myself.

On Question, Motion agreed to.

Lord Hoyle

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn during pleasure until 8.40 p.m.

Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.

[The Sitting was suspended from 8.17 to 8.40 p.m.]

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