Transport: Correction to Written Answer

Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Answer to Parliamentary Questions HL 597 to 602 (Official Report, 18 December 2007, col. WA 132) regarding the study of longer and heavier goods vehicles has been subsequently found to contain an error.

The Answer incorrectly stated that the study was

“… commissioned in December 2005 by the then Minister of State for Transport, the honourable Member for South Thanet (Dr Ladyman)”.

While the decision to undertake a study of longer and heavier goods vehicles was made by the then Minister of State for Transport, the honourable Member for South Thanet (Dr Ladyman), the study was in fact commissioned in October 2006. It was in December 2005 that a decision was taken to refuse applications from two hauliers each wishing to trial a goods vehicle longer and heavier than those currently permitted. The study was commissioned later following growing interest within the road freight industry, elsewhere in Europe, and by the European Commission who are considering these vehicles as part of the Community’s Freight Transport Logistics Action Plan to improve the efficiency of transport and logistics.