Written question asked by Gwyneth Dunwoody (Labour) on Friday, 5 October 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 8 October 2007. It was answered by Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour) on Tuesday, 9 October 2007 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the MOT Enforcement Transformation programme is; how MOT vehicle testing stations will be classified in the future; what safety checking regimes are for each class of MOT vehicle testing station; and how it was determined that the new checking regimes will work effectively.

Answer: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) MOT Enforcement Transformation programme supports the delivery of a number of its strategic objectives to improve the quality and consistency of the private vehicle testing service to the public. Focussing on non-compliant MOT garages, the risk based programme aims to improve MOT testing standards and operational efficiency.Similarly to the existing Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) system, MOT garages will be classified as Red, Amber or Green.VOSA monitor MOT garage safety through:"analysis of the MOT database,""intelligence received,""MOT Appeals,""random and targeted re-inspection of vehicles, and""mystery shopper exercises."VOSA trialled the risk based approach for 100 MOT garages in the Midlands area from June—October 2006. Analysis of the trial results demonstrated that the risk scoring mechanism is an effective method of predicting actual non-compliance by an MOT garage.

Secondary information