HC Deb 02 February 1981 vol 998 cc44-6W
Mr. Arthur Lewis

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what action is taken by his Department to ensure that the large number of foreign owned juggernaut lorries landing at British ports are mechanically perfect according to British laws; whether he will give a detailed list of times, dates and so on when examination of these lorries took place and with what results; and what proposals he has for tightening up these procedures.

Mr. Fowler

The mechanical inspection of foreign goods vehicles and coaches is an important part of the normal activities of my Department's vehicle examiners. Frequent checks of this type are carried out at ports of entry and on roadside sites throughout the country. Details of the mechanical inspections actually carried out at the ports during 1980 are given below. My Department's traffic examiners also carry out frequent checks on proper loading, documentation and compliance with the drivers' hours regulations. Co-ordinated checks by vehicle and traffic examiners were carried out at the ports during the period 5–10 October 1980, and further "blitzes" of this type are planned for the future. In addition the normal spot checks will continue.

Mechanical inspections of foreign vehicles at roll-onlroll-off ports in 1980
Port Date No. of vehicles inspected No. of Prohibitions issued
Dover, East 14 January 8 0
21 January 9 0
5 February 10 0
25 February 10 0
1 April 17 1
17 April 20 1
21 April 6 0
1 May 20 2
6 May 9 0
27 May 9 0
3 June 13 0
26 June 12 2
30 June 21 2
3 July 20 1
17 July 7 0
22 July 18 2
29 July 19 0
21 August 26 8
6 October 14 1
8 October 22 2
10 October 6 0
Total 296 22
Dover, West 9 January 8 0
23 January 9 0
14 February 9 0
28 March 9 0
15 April 9 0
29 April 18 0
13 May 19 0
17 July 8 0
6 October 8 0
8 October 4 0
Port Date No. of vehicles inspected No. of Prohibitions issued
10 October 2 0
Total 103 0
Felixstowe 6 October 33 5
8 October 31 1
10 October 8 1
Total 72 7
Folkestone 2 January 5 0
22 April 14 0
8 May 16 0
10 June 10 0
24 June 18 0
2 July 12 0
15 July 15 0
6 October 17 1
8 October 17 0
10 October 14 1
Total 138 2
Great Yarmouth 6 October 10 3
8 October 15 2
10 October 7 0
Total 32 5
Harwich 15 April 9 0
12 June 4 0
3 July 11 1
6 October 29 1
8 October 53 1
10 October 30 0
Total 136 3
Hull 30 April 22 0
5 October 22 1
7 October 16 4
9 October 16 2
Total 76 7
Immingham 7 October 4 0
Newhaven 7 October 24 5
9 October 29 8
10 October 6 2
Total 59 15
Plymouth 6 October 16 5
8 October 18 3
10 October 2 0
Total 36 8
Poole 2 April 25 1
24 April 4 0
18 June 25 0
26 June 12 2
13 August 12 2
3 September 25 6
17 September 25 5
6 October 38 12
8 October 45 9
10 October 19 5
29 October 12 0
4 November 44 1
11 November 18 0
Total 304 43
Port Date No. of vehicles inspected No. of Prohibitions issued
Portsmouth 10 July 2 0
22 September 4 0
29 September 4 1
7 October 22 0
8 October 21 3
9 October 17 1
20 October 12 3
22 October 14 1
10 November 2 0
17 November 7 0
Total 105 9
Sheerness 6 May 2 0
19 June 3 0
25 June 8 7
2 July 7 0
16 July 9 1
6 October 8 1
8 October 10 0
10 October 14 5
Total 61 14
Southampton February 11 0
30 April 14 0
13 May 17 0
12 August 7 0
6 October 41 1
8 October 22 2
9 October 21 3
21 October 8 1
11 November 13 0
154 7
Total for all Ports 1572 142