§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Transport what facilities and what expenditure has been provided in each year since 1981, by his Department, to ensure that drivers of vehicles carrying dangerous substances are trained in accordance with regulation 21 of the Dangerous Substances (Conveyance by Road in Road Tankers and Tank Containers) Regulations 1981 (S.I., 1981, No. 1059).
§ Mr. RidleyThe regulation places the responsibility for ensuring that drivers are adequately trained on the operators of vehicles.
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) drivers, (b) operators of vehicles and (c) operators of tank containers have been prosecuted under the Dangerous Substances (Conveyance by Road in Road Tankers and Tank Containers) Regulations 1981 (S.I., 1981, No. 1059) in each year since its implementation.
§ Mr. RidleyI understand that there was one successful prosecution in 1983 and two in 1984 by the Factory Inspectorate for offences by vehicle operators in premises for which they are the enforcement authority. There is no central record of prosecutions by other enforcement authorities.
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff have been employed by Her Majesty's Government to enforce the Dangerous Substances (Conveyance by Road in Road Tankers and Tank Containers) Regulations 1981 (S.I., 1981, No. 1059) in each year since its implementation.
§ Mr. RidleyThe regulations are made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and enforcement in premises to which the Act applies is the responsibility of either the Health and Safety Executive or the local authority as specified in the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1977. Enforcement on the road is the responsibility of chief officers of police. All HSE inspectors can enforce the regulations in premises for which HSE is the enforcing authority.
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the penalties applying to the driver, the operator of the vehicle, and the operator of the rank container, respectively, for breach of each of the regulations described in the Dangerous Substances (Conveyance by Road in Road Tankers and Tank Containers) Regulations 1981 (S.I., 1981, No. 1059).
§ Mr. RidleyI understand that the penalties for any offence under the Regulations are the same as for any regulations made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. By virtue of section 33(3) of that Act and the Criminal Penalties (Increases) Order 1984, the maximum fine that may be imposed following conviction in a magistrates court is £2,000 but following conviction on indictment there can be an unlimited fine.
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§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the amendments to the labelling requirements for lorries carrying dangerous substances to be enforced from 1 May to be published; and if he will list them in the Official Report.
§ Mr. RidleyAll the amendments to the European agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods (known as the "ADR" agreement) that come into effect on 1 May were published by the Stationery Office in January.