§ Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement clarifying the licence requirements for drivers of play-buses, used for pre-school playgroups, in 354W view of difficulty caused by differing requirements in different areas.
§ Mr. MulleyI am advised that, if the unladen weight of these vehicles exceeds 3 tons, they are heavy goods vehicles as defined in Section 124 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 and that their drivers must therefore hold the appropriate heavy goods vehicle driver's licence. The only case in which the driver would not need such a licence would be if the vehicle were exempt from vehicle excise duty because it did not use the roads for more than six miles per week in moving between lands in the occupation of the registered owner of the vehicle. I am unaware of any different advice having been given from official sources.