asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he is proposing to make a further revision of the memorandum on the abstract of the laws relating to London cab drivers in view of its unsuitability under modern conditions, and in particular of paragraph 39 on page 16 in which a taxicab driver is liable to prosecution if he leaves his taxicab unattended.

The abstract of laws relating to London taxi drivers has already been revised this year and I do not contemplate a further general revision at present. I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that paragraph 39 refers to a statutory provision, which is still useful to prevent unnecessary obstruction, but is very rarely used.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that some of these Acts are over 100 years old and that in view of their antiquity it is time that the whole situation in London was reviewed?

I shall be answering a Question later about that.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is proposing to take any action in connection with the application made to him on 30th September for authority to charge increased fares for the hire of taxicabs in the Metropolitan area.

The application is at present under consideration in consultation with representative organisations of the cab industry.

Can the Secretary of State say how soon some decision is likely to be reached in this matter? Will an early decision be arrived at or will this question be allowed to drag on for a long time?

I hope that it will not drag on for a long time. After all, when people are in consultation, I am not the only one to decide the pace of the proceedings.

Mrs. Manning:

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the men who drive the taxis think that the present fares are quite reasonable, and all they are asking for is a limit of the number of men allowed to ply for hire so that they can earn a reasonable living themselves?

There is a dispute between the two sides of the industry, and some matters similar to those mentioned by my hon. Friend come into the picture.

Will the Secretary of State refuse to accept his hon. Friend's suggestion to create an artificial shortage in this direction?

There is a Question about that later.

Mrs. Manning:

Is my right hon. Friend aware that it is better that these men should have a reasonable chance than that they should prowl about the streets; and that some men who drive taxis could be better used in industry?

It is always undesirable for people to prowl about the streets.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the report from the Working Party on Hackney Carriage Laws.

The Working Party was appointed to examine the law relating to hackney carriages with special reference to the need for modernising those provisions which are now obsolete and to make recommendations. The Acts of Parliament extend over more than 100 years and their provisions and the judicial decisions upon them have not previously been reviewed as a whole. This task of the Working Party must therefore take some time. Since the Working Party was first appointed, I have also asked them to consider as a matter of priority the general question of the limitation of the number of drivers and cabs and to let me have a report on this as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will now make a further statement on the representations made to him with a view to limiting the number of taxicabs in the Metropolitan area.

On 8th December I received a further deputation from the Transport and General Workers' Union on the question of the limitation of taxicabs and drivers. I have since asked the working party, to which, as I informed my hon. Friend the Member for Upton (Mr. A. Lewis) on 27th October, I referred this matter, to give it priority and let me have an interim report as soon as possible.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how many fewer taxicabs there are in the Metropolitan area than before the war, and, further, is he aware that nobody considers that there are too many taxicabs except, perhaps, the taxi drivers themselves?

I could give the hon. Gentle man the figures if he would put down the Question, but I can assure him that there is a grave conflict of views not only among taxicab drivers and owners, but among other people as to the proper number that should be fixed.

Will my right hon Friend continue the negotiations with the men's representatives before he comes to a decision regarding the number of taxi-cabs to be allowed?

Representatives of the men concerned are on the Working Party, and I have made arrangements whereby there shall be one person from their ranks especially qualified to deal with the matter.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that so far as one can fairly judge as between the relative circumstances of the taxi driver and the passenger, the balance of advantage continues to reside with the driver, and will he continue to grant licences to new taxi-cabs within reasonable limits in order to redress that position?

I do not want to give any answer until the Working Party have considered the matter. At the moment, no action has been taken which limits the number.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to remove the Purchase Tax from taxicabs because their high cost is one of the reasons for these representations to limit the number of taxicabs on the streets?

I do not think that is so, because it is the people who buy the cabs who object to the limitation.

Lieut-Commander Gurney Braith-waite:

Would the Home Secretary, whatever the Working Party may say, proceed on the basis that supply should equal demand?

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how the public's point of view will be put to this Working Party, because the public must be considered in this matter? Does he not agree that that is so?

When I get the report I shall have to consider it in the light of the public interest.

Is there any representative of the travelling public on this Working Party?

Yes, Sir, there is.