§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce regulations to require new cars to be equipped with effective alarms and deadlocking.
§ Mr. John PattenNo. It would be a breach of European Community law for the Government to introduce separate national legislation requiring new cars to be fitted with alarms and dead locks, since this would constitute a barrier to trade with other member states.
The Department of Transport is therefore examining how far the British standard on vehicle security, which include dead locks, might form the basis of a revised EC directive on vehicle security. That Department, with the support of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, is currently negotiating in the motor vehicles working group of the European Commission for part one of the new British standard, on mechanical locking systems, to be incorporated in a new directive. It is hoped that agreement on this will be reached soon. These efforts have my full support and that of my right hon. Friend.
In the meantime, my right hon. Friend is encouraging the motor manufacturers to adopt voluntarily the British standard for all new cars.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders report that alarms are now available as standard, or at point of sale, on 95 per cent. of new vehicle models sold in the United Kingdom.