Clause 41
Road Safety Bill [Lords]
4:30 pm
Stephen Ladyman (Minister of State, Department for Transport; South Thanet, Labour)
I, at least, appreciate the speed with which you go through the amendments, Sir Nicholas.
I hope that I can give the hon. Member for Wimbledon the assurance he seeks. When one is sitting the driving test, there are a number of instructions that the person setting the test has to give about the test itself. It is only right, in our view, that a person should have any assistance they need in order to understand those instructions. If they are hearing impaired, they need to have those instructions relayed in such a way that they can understand them, so someone who understands sign language would need to be made available. Equally, if a person does not speak English or Welsh—the languages in which we can provide the driving test—it may be necessary to have a translator.
The lack of comprehension that a person is allowed relates to the instructions for the test itself, not the content of the test or the nature of road signs. It is not possible to have an assistant translate a road sign; one needs to be able to understand a road sign oneself and act accordingly. The assistant will be present to help the individual only with the mechanism of the test, not with the skills on which one is being tested. I hope that with that explanation the hon. Gentleman will be happy to withdraw the amendment.