Written question asked by Gwyneth Dunwoody (Labour) on Wednesday, 26 March 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 31 March 2008. It was answered by Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour) on Wednesday, 2 April 2008 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many garages in the UK are licensed by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to conduct private vehicle and motorcycle MOT tests; how often these garages are inspected by VOSA to ensure standards are being upheld; and how many inspectors VOSA employs to check on standards in these garages.

Answer: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has 19,064 garages authorised to conduct MOT testing in Great Britain on private vehicles and motorcycles. In the financial year 2007-08, every active MOT garage received a VOSA site assessment in addition to any demand-led or targeted visits. This fully achieved a demanding Secretary of State key target last year. VOSA employs 330 vehicle examiners who spend around one third of their time on MOT garage supervision.

Secondary information