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Road Traffic (Northern Ireland)Order 2007

I thank the noble Baroness the Lord President for introducing the order, and I welcome her again as a Northern Ireland spokesman. We broadly support the order. There was a debate with lengthy speeches in the other place, so I will not go over that ground again. Perhaps I could ask the noble Baroness to firm up on one or two of the questions asked at the other end to which I did not get an answer by reading Hansard. One area where we would be anxious to see more enforcement is in relation to people driving vehicles completely illegally—uninsured, unlicensed, unregistered and un-MOT-ed. There is too much of that in the Province and I would like to know what the Government are doing to toughen up on it. The MoT point was made by Lady Hermon in the other place, but I am not sure that the Government have yet committed themselves to reviewing the whole MoT process, a process which I understand is still well behind. It is 100 per cent government-controlled. I am not saying that that is bad, because in other parts of Europe—Spain, for example—I have seen government-controlled MoT places. I have had my own car MOT-ed in Spain for many years. When it is done well, which it is there, it is extremely efficient. I am not saying that we have to go private, but I am saying that it is up to the Government, if they are going to keep it government-controlled, to make sure that there are adequate provisions and adequate facilities and that people can get their vehicles MOT-ed in due course on time. On Article 38, Lady Hermon asked in the other place: "““Before the Minister moves on to respond to the point made by my erstwhile colleague, the hon. Member for Lagan Valley, I ask him to answer my question: why is it that under article 18 it is only the offence of manslaughter by the driver of a motor vehicle that will be on a so-called newly introduced driving record? Why is causing death by dangerous driving not listed in the same way?””.—[Official Report, Commons Fifth Delegated Legislation Committee, 30/1/07; col. 18.]" Mr Cairns agreed to answer that in writing, but I am afraid that I have not seen a copy of the answer, if there is one on the record. Otherwise, in general, I support the order.