Good manners never hurt anyone, Sir Myer, as you and I know only too well from other places.

I thank the hon. and learned Member for Dulwich (Mr. S. C. Silkin) for using the case of a constituent to bring forward a matter which must affect a number of people, not only in London but in many other cities where disabled drivers' badges are used. The Government fully understand the concern of the people involved, and I entirely agree in principle with what underlies the Amendment. The problem is that we must temper logic with administrative possibilities. That is always a difficulty. From a legal point of view the amendment is not acceptable to the Government because the Bill is not bringing forward the administrative factors of any rationing scheme. I appreciate that the hon. and learned Gentleman has said that it is a probing amendment.

Whilst recognising that priority must be given to disabled drivers, it has only been possible in the business rationing scheme to give a higher allocation to those who use vehicles in the course of their work which are readily identifiable as related to the disabled, namely, DHSS vehicles, vehicles in respect of which a DHSS grant is payable and vehicles exempted from excise duty. The arrangements cover many but not all disabled employees. There are, of course, some who drive normal vehicles and not vehicles for the disabled which one associates with such categorisation.

It would be impossible for Post Office counter clerks who are issuing the business ration on the production of a number of simple and standard documents to use and discern a number of other pieces of documentation which are not standard throughout the country. As I think the hon. and learned Gentleman will realise, in trying to ease the burden which the Post Office will have to bear we have had to draw lines in a number of areas. We have had extensive negotiations with Post Office officials. We have attempted to make matters as simple as possible for Post Office staff so that there are no complications which need further reference.

We are having to do something which is unparalleled in peacetime. We are having to stimulate 15 million or 15½ million people within a short time to go to a Post Office with their registration book and their licence disc to claim something on a given day. To do that we have put forward an enormous amount of advertising. The papers and the television and radio authorities have been as co-operative as it is possible for them to be in trying to ensure that the information is brought home to the ordinary people.