During consideration of clause 18, the Committee considered some of the problems facing the industry in trying to ascertain whether illegal and clandestine immigrants are concealed in trucks. I spoke of the difficulties of investigating some loads, such as those including medical equipment, foodstuffs or valuable high-technology equipment. Friend the Member for Hertsmere mentioned curtain-sided trucks, access to which is available only from above. Friend touches on a point that I should have developed in my earlier remarks about the code of practice. It would be interesting to know whether the draft includes such references.
Friend is right to make that point.
I think that I am right in saying that the recommendations made by the Road Haulage Association for a code of conduct, to which I shall refer in a moment, show that it wants the code to deal with the type of load carried. It is in the best interests of the Road Haulage Association, which is at the sharp end of delivering the policy and of implementing the code of practice, not only to see the code as soon as possible but to ensure that it is practical and workable. It is also in its interests to secure acceptance of the responsibilities placed on its members and to ensure that safeguards are built into the clause for members and for employees working in an industry that involves increasing risks, as I think the Committee will agree. It is the avowed aim of the Road Haulage Association to produce a code that, as the association puts it, prevents and protects. It wants to secure measures that will ideally prevent the problem from arising in the first place, but the Government are going about that in a somewhat heavy-handed manner.