§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport further to his answer of 23 April,Official Report, column 417, whether he will publish and publicise the telephone numbers of the Department of Transport area departments dealing with complaints about smoky vehicles, subject to operator licensing; what checks operators of allegedly smoky vehicles will be required to undertake in order to satisfy his Department that the vehicle is not smoky; and what follow-up action his Department will take if an unsatisfactory reply is received.
§ Mr. ChopeThe telephone numbers of the Department of Transport's traffic area offices are:
telephone number
Birmingham 021 631 3300 Bristol 0272 297221 Cambridge 0223 358922 Cardiff 0222 394027 Eastbourne (covers London) 0323 21471 Edinburgh 031 225 5494 Leeds 0532 499433 Manchester 061 872 5077 Telephone numbers are in telephone directories or available from directory inquiries. The Department's new leaflet 'Traffic Areas—the New Boundaries and Offices' gives addresses, telephone numbers and boundaries of traffic area offices. It will shortly be available, free of charge, from the public inquiry unit of the Department in London, telephone 071 276 0800.
All operators subject to operator licensing must have adequate arrangements for vehicle maintenance. They will have to diagnose the cause of the excessive smoke and report back on what, if any, action has been taken. If the response from the operator is unsatisfactory, the vehicle 546W inspectorate will review the adequacy of the operators' maintenance arrangements and inspect the vehicle if necessary.