§ Mr. Boothasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will be discussing with the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community a proposed EEC directive to allow 40-tonne gross weight vehicles to run on the United Kingdom leg of international journeys.
§ Mr. David HowellMy hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Transport told the Council of Ministers on 16 December that the United Kingdom could not accept vehicles loaded to more than 38 tonnes either on domestic or on international journeys.
I understand that the Commission will be considering the draft directive further in the light of the discussion. I hope that further consideration will include the suggestions by the United Kingdom that the directive might be reformulated in terms of ranges for key weights and dimensions, determined by what member States were prepared to accept, or that it might take the form of model rules rather than a mandatory requirement.