Oakwood Travel (Classic Bus North West)

[DOG101]

RE: Oakwood Travel (Classic Bus North West)
Courtesy of Catch22bus Facebook page

Statement from Catch22bus

Sir Alistair MacDuff, a retired High Court judge, has issued his final report to the Department for Transport (DfT) into a complaint against the former Senior Traffic Commissioner, Beverley Bell made by Philip Higgs, Managing Director of Catch22Bus Ltd. Its findings and recommendations will now be considered by the Department and Secretary of State for Transport.

The original complaint of misconduct was made to the DfT back in March 2015, and escalated in November 2016, citing further grounds of misconduct. The Judge commenced his investigation back in February 2018 and his initial draft report was issued at the end of June. The draft report was shared with the Traffic Commissioner under investigation and she was allowed to make further representations to the Judge on his findings and recommendations.

In a letter to our transport lawyers Backhouse Jones, Duncan Price (Divisional Manager, Freight, Operator Licensing and Roadworthiness) at the DfT informed us that “the handling of Sir Alistair’s report will be matters for the Department. This includes both any action we may decide to take in response to any recommendations he has made, what can be shared with Mr Higgs, and at what point."

“Mr Higgs may also wish to be aware that it may be necessary for the Department to undertake a further HR process prior to arriving at final decisions on any recommendations that Sir Alistair has made. I appreciate the importance of investigating your client’s complaint, but it is important that the rights of the Traffic Commissioner involved are also respected.”

The Dft were unable to say when Mr Higgs would be notified of the results of Sir Alistair's investigation.