HC Deb 09 December 1953 vol 521 c248W
Sir A. Bossom

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will abolish the restrictions on the use of lorries for the transport of workers, so that hired or owned lorries with appropriate safety control can be used at all times of the year for such purposes as carrying workers from the towns for seasonal crop-picking, instead of farmers being compelled to hire a bus at much greater expense.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

There is no restriction on a farmer using his own lorries to carry his workers provided that no charge is made and that normal safety precautions and the necessary insurance requirements are observed. As my hon. Friend will be aware, provision was made in the Emergency Laws (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1953, for the carriage on hired vehicles of persons to or from agricultural work during the period 1st June to 30th November in any year without the need for licences under Part IV of the Road Traffic Act, 1930. I do not consider that there is need for an extension of this arrangement to the rest of the year.