Part of Road Safety Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 6:45 pm on 1 February 2005.
Greg Knight
Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
6:45,
1 February 2005
I hope that the Minister will justify the inclusion of the Clause and say that the Government have not introduced it merely because some jobsworth working for Transport for London thinks that there is a loophole, and they want to get their greasy hands on more money. As far as I am aware, the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, which was enacted to deal with the problem of minicab drivers, has been working well. I am not aware of any case of abuse that falls within this loophole. My concern is that if we approve the Bill with this clause in it, it could interfere with existing contractual relations. For example, where an old folks' home has a vehicle under private hire, under a five-year contract, to take residents to bingo once a week at a specific bingo hall, presumably the operator who is carrying out his side of the contract without complaint and without a problem would be prevented from continuing to operate that contract, because a new legal requirement would be imposed on him.
I should like to hear from the Minister why someone who does not deal with the public in the traditional sense of the word, but who works to specific contracts to undertake specific journeys, needs to go through the rigmarole of taking a test to see whether they know parts of London that they may not even cover with their business. That seems a heavy-handed approach. I am not surprised that the request came from Transport for London, but I am surprised that the Minister included the clause in the Bill without exemptions that would cover the case to which my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch referred.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
