Clause 52
Road Safety Bill [Lords]
5:45 pm
Stephen Hammond (Shadow Minister, Transport; Wimbledon, Conservative)
This is another eminently sensible clause. We want to ensure that we put in place preventive measures that reduce the risk of incidents at railway or other bridges crossing highways by requiring local authorities to install warning systems. The clause is a sensible preventive measure and the Opposition are happy to support it.
Stephen Ladyman (Minister of State, Department for Transport; South Thanet, Labour)
Once again, my advice will be that the clause should not stand part of the Bill. Local authorities already have powers to restrict certain types of traffic on certain roads and to put in place all the necessary measures to protect bridges. The fact that powers are not being used is no good reason for us to legislate to provide more powers which presumably will be just as little used. We need to ensure that local authorities and others are aware of their duties and their powers and that they use them more rigorously in future. I entirely agree with the intent behind the clause, but it is not necessary and we can achieve its objective with the existing laws.
Division number 12 - 5 yes, 9 no
Voting yes: Henry Bellingham, Stephen Hammond, Owen Paterson, Paul Rowen, Lee Scott
Voting no: Tom Harris, Brian Iddon, David Kidney, Stephen Ladyman, Patrick McFadden, Rosemary McKenna, Sandra Osborne, Frank Roy, Andrew Slaughter