§ Mr. Bradleyasked the Minister of Transport if he will revise the conditions under which hackney carriages licensed by local authorities may be exempt from the provisions of Section 66 of the Road Traffic Act, 1960, concerning the issue of test certificates.
Mr. Bob BrownYes. My right hon. Friend has decided that in future exemptions from Section 66 of the Road Traffic Act 1960 will be granted in respect of hackney carriages or private hire cars licensed by local authorities provided that:
- 1. the licence issued by the local authority is valid for a period of not more than 12 months;
- 2. the local authority requires those vehicles which it licences to be submitted for an examination as to mechanical condition, and a certificate of compliance with the requirements of such a test is produced to the local authority before the licence is issued;
- 3. the test for licensing purposes covers the full requirements of Schedules 2 and 3 to the Motor Vehicles (Tests) Regulations, 1968, and any amendments which may from time to time be made to those schedules;
- 4. the test is carried out by
- (i) the police, or
- (ii) an examiner authorised as such for the purpose of the M.O.T. test scheme and nominated by a local authority for this purpose, or
- (iii) an inspector appointed by the Minister for the purpose of the M.O.T. test scheme, or
- (iv) an inspector appointed by a council designated by the Minister for the purpose of Section 65 of the Road Traffic Act 1960, and
- 5. the area mechanical engineer in whose area the local authority is located confirms to the Minister after an examination of the arrangements by the local authority for the testing of hackney carriages and/or private hire cars before a licence is issued for those vehicles, that the conditions set out in 1 to 4 above are satisfied.
The Motor Vehicles (Tests) (Exemption) Regulations 1969 will be amended to include vehicles licensed by authorities complying with these requirements.