Clause 48 - Qualifications of supervisors and operatives
Traffic Management Bill
4:30 pm
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch, Conservative)
To what extent has the clause been the subject of discussion between local authorities and the
utilities? It appears that there is not much reciprocity. All the burden is on the utilities—the statutory undertakers—to identify people who are named and suitably qualified. However, we all know from our experience that often one of the problems when dealing with local authorities is finding somebody at his desk, by his telephone or at his laptop who is prepared to accept responsibility for answering a question. Even if one discovers the identity of that person, it is often quite difficult to get them to phone back. When he makes the regulations, perhaps the Minister will give regard to the need for reciprocity in the exchanges of names and addresses.