To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many officers are authorised to check lorry weights in each local authority area; and if he will make a statement.

At 31 May 1993, 197 vehicle inspectorate (VI) traffic examiners were authorised by the chief executive to check lorry weights. Traffic examiners are integrated into VI"s district structure and it is not possible to give a breakdown by local authority area.Weighing is also carried out independently by local authority trading standards officers and the police.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many prosecutions were made against transport companies for overweight loads in each region for 1992 and 1993 to the most recent practicable date.

The numbers of successful prosecutions obtained by the vehicle inspectorate against goods vehicle operators for overloading offences for the year 1992 and from 1 January to 30 June 1993 are given in the table. During 1992 the inspectorate implemented a change in policy; it now only normally prosecutes where the vehicle is overloaded by 10 per cent. or 1 tonne.