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Written question asked by Richard Holden (Conservative) on Friday, 20 March 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 24 March 2026. It was answered by Simon Lightwood (Labour) on Monday, 30 March 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Vehicle Certification Agency: Fees and Charges

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2026 to Question 119471 on the Vehicle Certification Agency, what the estimated financial deficit of the Vehicle Certification Agency is in monetary terms and as a percentage of full cost recovery; what assessment her Department has made of the causes of that deficit; whether the Vehicle Certification Agency should operate on a full cost recovery basis.

Answer

The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) reported a net deficit of £8.778m in its accounts for the 2024/25 financial year. Income was reported at £22.252m against costs of £31.031m


The hourly rate charged by the VCA for technical work has not increased since 2006.

Chapter 6 of Managing Public Money, instructs government agencies that the standard approach is to “…set charges to recover full costs”, the intention of which is to “…make sure that the government neither profits at the expense of consumers nor makes a loss for taxpayers to subsidise it.”

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
122530
Session
2024-26
Related items
Vehicle Certification Agency: Fees and Charges
Monday, 16 March 2026
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
Fees and charges Vehicle Certification Agency
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk