Supporting the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Bill

Speech delivered to Assembly on Tue 10th Nov 2009

Mr Ford: I express my general support for the principles of the Bill and for the amendments. A few months ago, we reached the Consideration Stage of the Taxis Bill, and I remember saying that it was like the penultimate meeting of a rather sad club that had met on many occasions. However, the membership of the club has changed somewhat. In particular, there is a new Minister, who was not subject to all the difficulties that some of us went through. Indeed, time took its toll on the Committee; some of its members did not have the excitement of going through the process. It is good to see that the same smiling faces are sitting in the Minister's Official Box, watching as we debate the penultimate stage of the Bill.

Mr Beggs: Does the Member agree that, perhaps, we were fortunate that there was a change of Minister? The information that came back to the Committee was that the previous Minister was minded not to proceed with the Bill. Is that correct?

Mr Ford: I am not sure whether the Member wants me to join in praising one member of the Democratic Unionist Party or in attacking another. I agree that there seems to have been some delay in reaching this stage, but, under the current Minister, we have at least reached it. I am glad that the current Minister listened to the Committee, and, in particular, that the Committee was able to agree certain issues with his officials as we examined the detail of the Bill. As the Deputy Chairperson said, some of us have worked on the Bill since May 2008. Perhaps the Committee did not have as many sessions on this Bill as we had on the Taxis Bill, but, at times, it began to seem like it.

A number of improvements has been made, which the amendments recognise. I endorse those, particularly the fact that we have dealt with the definition of a small goods vehicle in a way that reduces the potential for over-onerous burdens on one-man or two-man businesses. Farmers, the horticulture industry and representatives of small tradesmen who use a single vehicle for themselves made that complaint about the original proposals.

I have a slight concern, and the Minister should consider whether there may be some difficulty over the issue of what could be described as large fleets of small vehicles. We have addressed the legitimate concerns of small operators about the size of a vehicle and the size of a business, but a slight difficulty may have been created on that issue. I will be interested to hear the Minister address that point in his summing-up remarks.

The Committee has dealt with a variety of matters that did not occur when similar legislation was introduced across the water, such as the danger that rogue cross-border operators will cut into the business of legitimate operators in Northern Ireland. I certainly hope that we will see - it does not currently seem to be the case - appropriate legislation being passed in the Oireachtas to ensure that operators in Northern Ireland get fair treatment on an all-Ireland basis.

As Peter Weir said, with the eloquence that we expect from someone in his profession, the regulations that we will have to face will, ultimately, be as significant as the Bill itself. We look forward to seeing the Department produce those regulations as quickly as possible, because there is a serious need to deal with the road safety problems being caused by a small number of rogue operators, the people who create difficulties as they proceed to GB or the continent.

It is not too many months since I was driving along a motorway in Wales and saw that a vehicle with a Northern Ireland registration had been pulled in for a check by traffic police. That shows the unfortunate reputation that a minority of bad operators have given the great majority of legitimate Northern Ireland goods vehicle operators. The Assembly must ensure that legislation is passed to defend the reputations of good operators who abide by regulations and deserve to be supported.

Some colleagues have mentioned the evidence that was given by the traffic commissioner for north-west England. I regret that it has not been possible to include provision for an independent traffic commissioner in the Bill. However, the Department must keep the matter under review and may well need to address it in the near future.

At present, the Bill and its proposed amendments represent a significant step forward. I support them fully.

....

I am pleased that the Minister referred to traffic commissioners, and I thank him for proposing to keep that matter "under review". However, what does "under review" mean in the context of legislation?

I appreciate his points about the separation of licensing and enforcement functions. The reality is that the DVA is an agency of his Department, and we appear to be creating a situation that is somewhat analogous to that of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the Planning Service, both of which are agencies of the Department, and, therefore, it is possible to question the degree of independence between their functions.

With that in mind, will the Minister tell the House how the system will operate, given the practical realities, to ensure maximum possible separation? Moreover, will he outline a timescale in which he will consider whether it is better to move towards the concept of establishing traffic commissioners as an entirely independent body?