Clause 42
Road Safety Bill [Lords]
4:30 pm
Stephen Ladyman (Minister of State, Department for Transport; South Thanet, Labour)
I assure the hon. Gentleman that the DVLA will not replace the police and trading standards officers. The idea is that in future the DVLA will work with them as a joint enforcement team. As he suggests, it is a sensible measure. It removes a burden on the police; it will allow the DVLA to take enforcement action in its own right, rather than reporting matters to the police for them to take action on its behalf; and it will resolve an anomaly whereby trading standards officers possess the power of enforcement if they are employed by district councils, but do not if they are employed by county councils. In future, officers employed by county councils will possess the power, too. The intention is that all three—the police, the DVLA and trading standards officers—will work jointly.