Written question asked by Lord Grayling (Conservative) on Thursday, 8 February 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 February 2007. It was answered by Stephen Ladyman (Labour) on Tuesday, 20 February 2007 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is his policy that the MOT test should principally assess levels of wear on a vehicle rather than its reliability.

Answer: The items to be tested in an MOT test are set by Directive 96/96/EC. The principal purpose of the test is to ensure that a vehicle meets at least minimum prescribed standards related to road safety and environmental performance.In general, this means checking to ensure that components which are liable to wear have not deteriorated to a level below these minimum standards, and that a vehicle is otherwise not in such a condition that its use on the road would represent a danger either to the driver or to any other person. The test is also designed to ensure that a vehicle meets minimum standard levels so as not to cause avoidable damage to the environment.

Secondary information