Ms Moyagh Murdock:

Deputy Ellis's first question related to the responsibility of employers to test for drugs and alcohol. Given my previous background, I am a bit of a poacher turned gamekeeper, so I do appreciate those concerns and the challenges that employers can face in enforcing a drugs and alcohol policy. The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that we have improved safety, especially in the bus and truck industry where large fleets of vehicles carrying between 50 and 80 passengers and big transport operators with 40-tonne and larger vehicles are on our roads and are a serious risk under the control of an impaired driver.

The purpose of the legislation is to set down in law the basis of impairment testing within organisations based on best practice. There is a provision already, in the Health and Safety at Work Act, for employees to agree to intoxicant testing if it is deemed appropriate by their employer. This is a further step that focuses on road safety. We will see more detail in the actual regulations in terms of facilitating employers, but it is a very important step in improving road safety, especially in public transport. It is not directed at small companies, taxi drivers, one-man bands or husband-and-wife teams but at transport operators who operate fleets of large vehicles carrying schoolchildren and other passengers. It operates under a voluntary arrangement at the moment and a lot of bus operators already fit alco-locks on their vehicles to improve their safety. We are doing this to ensure there is a safe system of work in transport companies whereby they are satisfied that their drivers are fit to drive and the public and their passengers are safe.

We will take on board the issues of small operators and small businesses in terms of enforcing something like that.