Member

Turning to my Amendment 403, I will have to be brief. About 20 years ago the then Labour Government made the excellent policy decision that henceforth abnormal loads would normally be escorted by industry rather than by the police, except in certain circumstances. The policy worked really well. It was originally intended that, under Schedule 5 to the Police Reform Act 2002, the police would accredit suitable self-escorters so that they had police powers to direct traffic and permit traffic regulations to be broken.