§ Mr. Higginsasked the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he has given to licensing authorities about the enforcement of the law in relation to the overloading of goods vehicles.
§ Mr. RidleyI have asked my Department to write to all licensing authorities setting out the position as to the law, and drawing their attention to the increased resources I have made available for prosecutions by accepting an increase above budget where that was needed and by increasing the staff of one traffic area office specifically for that purpose. I will keep the need for additional resources under review as part of the annual budgetary controls, or exceptionally in the course of the year if any problem arises. Enforcement of the law is for the licensing authorities. All I can do is to make sure they are not restricted by lack of resources. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.