§ Mr. Marplesasked the Minister of Transport (1) whether his Department buys retreaded or remoulded tyres; and 591W what proportion of the total types procured in the most recent convenient year these represented;
(2) what plans he has to reduce the number of tyre sizes and types currently in use by his Department;
(3) what is the present size of stocks of tyres held by his Department, expressed both in numbers of tyres and total money value of tyres;
(4) with how many contractors and to what total value he has contracts for the supply of tyres for periods exceeding three years from the beginning of the current financial year;
(5) for how many years ahead his Department has contracts for the supply of tyres;
(6) from how many different manufacturers his Department is buying tyres; and if he will give the total value of foreign made tyres bought by his Department during the most recent convenient year;
(7) if he will give the total expenditure of his Department on tyres during the most convenient recent year, together with the total number of tyres bought during that year; and if he will indicate the breakdown between those bought directly by his own Department and those bought on his behalf by other Departments, showing a breakdown of those other Departments;
(8) what is the number of different tyre sizes currently in use on vehicles run by his Department, and the proportion of total tyres bought during the most recent convenient year, represented by the 10 most commonly used tyre sizes.
Mr. Bob BrownTyres are obtained on our behalf by the Ministry of Defence through contract as and when required, and no contract is negotiated direct by the Department. No retreaded or remoulded tyres or tyres of foreign manufactrue have been bought. During the financial year 1968–69 640 tyres were procured through the Minister of Defence at a cost of £13,500; about 250 tyres valued at approximately £4,500 are held in stock at present.
About 20 different sizes of tyres of various types are in current use, of which the 10 most commonly used account for over 90 per cent. of the total number of tyres bought. It is not possible to 592W reduce the number of tyre sizes and types now in use.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Minister of Transport what work is being carried out at present by the Road Research Laboratory on the design and performance specification of tyres; and if he will give the cost of this work, together with an indication of any contribution which the tyre manufacturing industry may be making towards it.
Mr. Bob BrownNone directly on specifications for tyre design. However, a study is being made of tyre/road adhesion which affects vehicle safety. Current Road Research Laboratory work is concerned with interaction of tyre, road and vehicle with the objects of achieving greater uniformity of performance with different vehicles and of finding materials for tyre treads and road surfaces which best meet friction and wear requirements with safety and economy.
In the current year total costs are estimated at £80,000.
Tyre manufacturers contribute in kind by supplying special tyres for the research and by making available results of their own testing programmes.
§ Mr. Martenasked the Minister of Transport what are the criteria employed in the replacement of tyres used by his Department, expressed in terms of mileage, time or wear.
Mr. Bob BrownRegulation No. 83 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations, 1969, which relates to tyres, includes criteria as to structural or physical damage to the tyre and to tread wear.
These criteria are observed in deciding when to replace tyres on vehicles operated by the Department; for vehicles employed on winter maintenance, because of the difficult conditions under which they may be called upon to operate, tyres are normally replaced well before the minimum tread depth of 1mm. is reached.