HC Deb 24 November 1983 vol 49 cc226-7W
Mr. Michael Forsyth

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria he uses in deciding the appointment of traffic commissioners.

Mrs. Chalker

Three traffic commissioners are appointed for each traffic area, a full-time salaried chairman and two part-time unpaid commissioners. Candidates for appointment as chairman are normally expected to be at least 50 years of age and must have had managerial and responsible administrative or other relevant experience in transport, preferably road transport, the courts or in administrative tribunals.

The part-time commissioners are appointed for a period of three years, one from a panel nominated by county councils, or regional and island councils in Scotland, the other from a panel nominated by district councils, including London boroughs and the Common council of the City of London. It is not necessary for a nominee to be a council member. It is preferable that nominees for first appointment should be 65 years of age or under, and that all nominees should be able to complete their period of appointment before reaching the age of 70 years. The panels are also used for the selection of deputy commissioners, who serve when a Commissioner is unavailable on a particular occasion, and appointments of commissioners are usually made from panel members with practical experience as deputies.

Candidates for all commissioners' posts are normally considered ineligible for consideration if they have a financial interest in a transport undertaking, are employees or operators of passenger transport undertakings, are officials of trade unions specifically representing employees of public passenger transport undertakings or are members of transport users' consultative committees. Membership of a council committee with responsibility for transport matters is not a bar to appointment.