§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations and from whom he has received to date in his consultations on the introduction of 44-tonne lorries; and if he will list whether they are for or against their introduction. [13553]
§ Mr. Watts[holding answer 31 January 1997]: To date, there have been 26 formal responses to the consultation document. Those in favour of 44 tonnes came from: Forest Enterprise, Co-operative Union Ltd., West Sussex county council, Cumbria county council, Tees Valley joint strategy unit, Kent county council, Warwickshire county council, Commercial Motor Magazine, Food and Drink Federation, T. Brady and Son Ltd., Magnox Electric pic, CAIB UK Ltd., Transport Resources International and Westward Commercial Vehicles Ltd., as well as two members of the public.
Those against came from the hon. Members for Blaby (Mr. Robathan) and for Brentford and Isleworth (Mr. Deva), South Norfolk council, Liverpool John Moores university, GMB, the Chiltern Society, the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland, Great Yarmouth borough council and one member of the public.
The Institute of Trading Standards Administration has made a formal response but expressed no opinion.
In addition, several right hon. and hon. Members have recently written about correspondence from their constituents on the subject.
The consultation period closes on 14 February.
§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many spot checks were undertaken by the Vehicle Inspectorate on the noise levels emitted by heavy goods vehicles during the last year for which figures are available. [15349]