Voice from the North
Page 54

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I am intrigued to know how much John Hanlon is going to let his hair down at the
Freight Transport Association's national conference ifl Odbober, where he is scheduled to talk about how he would like to see 0-licensing altered.
Always one of the most quotable and controversial of Licensing Authorities, Mr Hanlon was nevertheless restrained by his position from
being so outspoken as to .risk undermining the system he was charged with administering. Despite this, he said some pretty Strong things about the virtually unfettered entry into haulage which 0-1icensing allowed, and he made it very clear that he thought there should be some form of quantity control to balance supply and demand more directly; and he has been even
more insistent that heavy goods transport is a job for established professionals.
Now that he has retired he can be relied upon to sharpen up his attack on what he sees as the failings of the licensing law, By sheer coincidence there is a new and uncommitted Minister for Transport on hand to hear views Which will almost certainly coincide in sentiment with those expressed by the RHA. Whether they will fall as happily on FTA ears is another matter entirely !