§ Mr. Jesselasked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish the consultative document concerning exemptions from the Road Traffic (Seat Belts) Bill; and how long a period he intends to allow for consultations.
§ Mr. MarksA draft of the consultative document will be published in the next 161W few days. Formal consultation under Section 199 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 cannot take place until the Bill has become law; but I hope that making the terms of the document available in draft at this stage will enable interested organisations to formulate their views in advance so that the time allowed for consultation need be no longer than the period of three months which is normally provided for receiving and giving full consideration to comments on proposed regulations.