§ Mr. Roger EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce compulsory seat belts for school buses and minibuses; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth CarlisleThere is presently no requirement to fit seat belts in the rear seats of minibuses and coaches except in the exposed forward facing seats in coaches first used after 1 October 1988. We are pressing the European Commission to put forward amendments to the relevant directives to require seat belts to be fitted to all seats in these vehicles. The present law on compulsory wearing of seat belts requires them to be used in rear, as well as front, seats of smaller minibuses with an unladen weight not exceeding 2540kg, where they are fitted voluntarily.