§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the valid heavy goods vehicle operator licences in effect in(a) Wychavon, (b) Cotswold, and (c) Stratford-upon-Avon district council areas. [84911]
664W
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Traffic Area Network electronic database of HGV and PSV operator licences can be accessed through their website on www.tan.gov.uk Data can be extracted by post-code area, but not by local authority district, and by operator name. There are more than 100 operators in the areas.
§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will make it his policy to require the Transport Commissioners to notify local councils of applications for heavy goods vehicle operator licenses within their council area; [84914]
(2) if he will list those bodies and individuals the Traffic Commissioners are obliged to consult before issuing operators licences; and what plans he has to add bodies and individuals to this list; [84920]
(3)why the responsibility to advertise an application for a heavy goods vehicle operator licence rests with the applicant. [84915]
§ Mr. JamiesonAn applicant for a heavy goods vehicle operating licence must advertise the details of the application in a local newspaper circulating in the locality of a proposed operating centre and send a copy of the advertisement to the Traffic Commissioner. A Traffic Commissioner must satisfy himself that this meets the requirements. If not, he must refuse the application. Independent verification by the Traffic Commissioner provides a better safeguard for local residents than if he were responsible for advertising applications.
The Traffic Commissioner has the responsibility for publishing applications received, other than minor variations, and for notifying those bodies with a statutory right to object to the grant of a licence. The bodies a Traffic Commissioner is obliged to consult are: prescribed trade unions; a chief officer of police; a local authority; a planning authority. There are no plans to add to this list. Local residents affected may make representations.
§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of the need for the Traffic Commissioners to take account of environmental issues when granting operator licences for the use of heavy goods vehicles; [84921]
(2) what account the Transport Commissioners are required to take of local road safety congestion and the amenity of local committees when granting a heavy goods vehicle operator licence; [84912]
(3) what steps the Traffic Commissioners take to ensure an applicant for a heavy goods vehicle operator licence is a bona fide business and otherwise suitably qualified individual; [84917]
(4) if he will make it his policy to require the Transport Commissioners to satisfy themselves that an appropriate planning permission exists on a site for which an application for a heavy goods vehicle operator licence has been made before granting any such licence; [84913]
(5) for what reason the independent Traffic Commissioners are limited in what they may consider when deciding an operator's licence application; [84916]
665W(6) what account the Traffic Commissioners take of practicability of (a) gaining access to and (b) manoeuvring vehicles on a site before granting an operator licence for heavy goods vehicles; [84919]
(7) what steps the Traffic Commissioners take to ensure that a site on which a heavy goods vehicle operator licence is applied for has the appropriate planning permission. [84918]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Goods Vehicle (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995 determines the matters which a Traffic Commissioner takes into account in granting an application for a goods vehicle operating licence. These relate to the suitability of
(a) a site for use as an operating centre for heavy goods vehicles, including parking; safety of access to a public road; and impact on the local environment; and(b) an operator in terms of good repute; financial standing; and professional competence.Traffic Commissioners are responsible for deciding whether the criteria have been met. It follows that Traffic Commissioners do not have the power to take into account other matters such as the absence of planning permission for an operating centre or its impact on road congestion. These are the responsibility of the local planning authority and the local highway authority respectively.