§ Mr. JackTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how he proposes to pursue the major experiment in the use of retraining for drink-drive offenders proposed in the White Paper "The Road User and The Law"; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AtkinsWe have today issued a consultation paper inviting comments on the details of how such a scheme might work. As indicated in our White Paper "The Road User and The Law"—Cm. 576—we want the courts to have forms of disposal available that will improve offenders' driving behaviour. This will cut the risks not only to themselves but to all other road users. Experience here and overseas suggests that retraining courses can help offenders change their attitudes to drinking and driving. The three-year experiment we propose will provide a basis for assessing this.
We are inviting organisations who might be interested in running such courses to contact us now.