Driving Instruction (Suspension and Exemption Powers) Bill
9:45 am
Paul Clark (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport; Gillingham, Labour)
I will be brief, bearing in mind that there is clearly strong support across the House for the Bill and the amendments in this group. Regarding the comments from the right hon. Member for East Yorkshire, it is clear that the registrar will issue guidance for all to see. That comes back to getting the balance right, which was a point picked up by the hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby and my hon. Friend the Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk.
We are dealing with the few, as I said when moving the money and Ways and Means resolutions in the Chamber on Monday. The vast majority of driving instructors—whether fully qualified or in training—are fine and fit for purpose. They have an important vocation that they undertake with due seriousness. However, we know there are others, which is why the Bill recognises what Lesley Anne Steele—the constituent of the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife—went through. We hope that there will be no need to use the provisions of the Bill—soon to be an Act—but we owe people such as Lesley Anne Steele protection, when necessary. I will only add that, on conclusion of this Committee stage, we look forward to joining you in the Smoking Room for a drink, Mr. Wilshire.