Hon. Anthony Berry: asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take with regard to the London Rail Study—the Barran Report—and if he will make a statement.
Hon. Anthony Berry: Does not the Minister agree that one of the most urgent problems facing London is a decision about Dockland development, an ingredient of which must be the building of the River Line? Since the decision should be taken soon, ought it not to be done while the team which is constructing the Fleet Line is still intact so that it could then, having finished one job, move reasonably quickly to the...
Hon. Anthony Berry: I must confess that this is the first time I have actually found myself on a Second Reading Committee. I was not even quite sure what the procedure was, and I would not have minded spending the rest of my parliamentary career without discovering it. As the Minister has said, it is an important Bill, and we on the Opposition side of the Committee are grateful to him for the way he has...
Hon. Anthony Berry: We all have to do that. I am particularly glad that this is a Bill from the Department of the Environment with which, as the Minister knows, I had close connections for the first two years of its existence. On occasions it produces Bills that arouse certain controversies, depending on who is in charge. But it has a good reputation for having introduced many important and non-controversial...
Hon. Anthony Berry: Too many.
Hon. Anthony Berry: May I begin by saying that I strongly agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, Central (Mr. Moore) that the Government should have a close look at the new clause which we moved in Standing Committee. We might well have won a Division, but it would have rehybridised the Bill and made a complicated Bill even more complicated. One of the most interesting things about this debate is...
Hon. Anthony Berry: asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has for establishing a network of lorry parks.
Hon. Anthony Berry: Does the Minister agree that it was always an urgent necessity to have more lorry parks but that it has now become all the more urgent because of his recently announced decision to curtail motorways and other major roads, which means that lorries will continue to use unsuitable streets and will have to be parked at night in residential areas? Will he therefore try to get a move on in...
Hon. Anthony Berry: What has happened to the Bill incorporating the compulsory use of seat belts? If it is to be abandoned after one hour's debate on Second Reading, would it not be a good thing to abandon many other Bills after one hour's debate on Second Reading?
Hon. Anthony Berry: asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the Green Paper on the Highway Code.
Hon. Anthony Berry: The Minister of Transport said that the code would be issued before the end of this year. I appreciate that the right hon. Gentleman did not expect that he would still be the Minister, but we regret the delay. Will the hon. Gentleman ensure that the House has adequate time to discuss the Green Paper—unlike the last time when a new Highway Code was introduced by the Labour Government—and...
Hon. Anthony Berry: In the interests of the safety of schoolchildren, will the Minister also speed up his experiments in the banning of car parking outside schools, as this could well lead to much greater safety for schoolchildren?
Hon. Anthony Berry: The Minister is quite right to say that I was under the impression at that time that the motion would be tabled before the House rose for the General Election. Was it never the Minister's intention that the motion should have been tabled at that stage?
Hon. Anthony Berry: My hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, Central (Mr. Moore) said that he was in some doubt as to how to vote on the motion. Those who recall the early hours of 11th October will appreciate that my hon. Friend's constituents also appeared to be in some doubt about how to vote, but at the risk of uniting the Labour Party for the first time tonight, let me say that we are glad that they voted as...
Hon. Anthony Berry: Very often at these surveys there is a barrier between through traffic and the traffic that will be questioned. By the time the driver has got into the queue of motorists to be questioned and has told the policeman that he is in a hurry to catch a train or to vote in a Division, other cars are close behind him and it is physically impossible for him to get out. If he does not want to take...
Hon. Anthony Berry: Do I understand the right hon. Gentleman to say that he is hoping to introduce a Green Paper in advance of a new Highway Code later this year?
Hon. Anthony Berry: My hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead (Mr. Finsberg) complimented the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Lewis)—rightly so—for his work in connection with this matter. As the hon. Member for Newham, North-West, is absent, and bearing in mind that he is a constituent of mine, perhaps I may accept the compliment on his behalf. This is an important clause and I hope that the Minister...
Hon. Anthony Berry: Is my hon. Friend sure that the majority of seat belts fitted to cars in this country would have the beneficial effect that he is describing?
Hon. Anthony Berry: I take it that my hon. Friend means that this will be our last opportunity to discuss it from the Opposition benches.
Hon. Anthony Berry: Since most of my hon. Friends have departed, perhaps I may, without any unreasonable delay, thank the Minister for his help in this matter. When the Bill is published properly, we may all find it useful to cut out the subsection and have it conveniently in our cars to show, if and when the occasion arises. We support the amendment.
