HC Deb 02 August 1978 vol 955 cc735-6
7. Mr. Bendall

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many complaints he has had in the last three months from the public about the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre at Swansea; how many were received in the same three months in 1977; and if any have sought the closure of the centre.

Mr. Horam

Letters and telephone calls to the centre from members of the public totalled 428,000 during the last three months compared with 563,000 in the corresponding period last year. About half related to individual transactions, but by no means all of these were complaints. The question of closure is occasionally raised.

Mr. Bendall

Many motorists overpaid vehicle duty because of a misleading Department form. Could the Minister please say how many people have not received repayment and when such people are likely to receive it?

Mr. Horam

That exercise is virtually complete, and about £1.2 million has been paid out.

Mr. Ronald Atkins

May we look forward to the day when the vehicle duty will be replaced by taxation on, say, petrol, and to the time when the centre can be closed?

Mr. Horam

My hon. Friend may look forward to that day, but this really is a question for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and not for me.

Mr. Hal Miller

Does the Minister agree that the centre is of great use in providing information to the motor trade and to the police, and that rather than that efforts should be directed towards closing it they should be directed towards making it more efficient?

Mr. Horam

I thought for a minute that the hon. Gentleman intended to say "make it bigger". None the less, I appreciate the point that he makes. Improvements in efficiency have been considerable over the past 12 months or so, as is shown by the fact that the number of letters on the subject from Members of Parliament and from members of the public is considerably down by comparison with a year ago. I am sure that that is a consequence of the ending of the phasing-in period of centralisation. The centre is now complete and beginning to run smoothly.