Turfitt to replace Bell as Senior TC
Richard Turfitt will replace Beverley Bell in the role of senior traffic commissioner (STC) on 1 June. He is currently the traffic commissioner (TC) in the largest of Great Britain’s traffic areas, the East of England – a position he has held since 2008.
He worked as a government prosecutor for over a decade, and is currently a Justice of the Peace.
Mrs Bell is also stepping down as TC for the North West of England, a role she has held since 2000, to be replaced by her deputy, Simon Evans.
Announcing Mr Turfitt’s appointment, transport minister John Hayes said: “I’m delighted that Richard will be the new STC, following his tenure as TC for the East of England. His knowledge and vast experience means he is well-placed to regulate services appropriately, and I wish him all the best in this important role.”
Richard Turfitt said: “I am excited to be asked to take up the role of STC for Great Britain.
“There is no doubt that I have a hard act to follow and I want to thank Beverley [Bell] for her work as STC over the last five years.
“We have a strong, dedicated team of TCs and I look forward to continuing that work with them, to support responsible, compliant operators and drivers and focus our scrutiny on those who pose serious risks to safety standards.”
Beverley Bell added: “Richard has been an unstinting source of support for me in my time as STC and I feel comfortable leaving the role in his capable hands.”
Despite enjoying the additional duties involved in her role as STC since 2012, Mrs Bell recently said that it remained public inquiry work “that I enjoy the most – putting those operators who have lost their way back on the road to compliance, and putting those operators who have no intention of complying with their operator licence obligations out of business so that compliant operators can pick up the work that they rightly lose.”
During her tenure as STC, Mrs Bell has on occasion proven unafraid to assert the independence of the TCs when finding herself at odds with the government, including over its approach to roadside enforcement.
In 2013, she was memorably critical of DVSA predecessor VOSA, telling MPs during a transport select committee evidence session that the agency, “do some fabulous work, but I don’t think they do enough of it” – and criticising its perceived tendency to “target the soft underbelly of the nice but incompetent small operators” while “not targeting the serially and seriously non-compliant”.
If indications from the most recent annual TC’s report are anything to go by, this independence of tone is likely to be preserved under Mrs Bell’s successor.
While sharply critical of fleet operators who had proved ignorant of the requirements of their licences – with scaffolders and waste contractors in particular singled out for opprobrium – Richard Turfitt also reserved some of his ire for institutional inefficiencies within government and their impact on his brief.
“Like most viewers I still find Yes Minister tremendously funny, but it can be less enjoyable when you live it day on day,” he observed.
“It is difficult to function efficiently when it can take nearly an hour to log on remotely. I cannot help notice that the recruitment to a public liaison post has been given priority by DVSA over a permanent head of the Office of the Traffic Commissioner.
“I have no clue as to why files would be accommodated in storage which costs a small fortune to retrieve and with little reference to the data management legislation. I am similarly at sea as to why it takes weeks for financial approval to fill a post, which already exists and which operators have already paid for.”
