§ 8. Mr. Evennettasked the Secretary of State for Transport what changes he proposes to make to the fees charged for the heavy goods vehicle driver tests.
§ Mr. RidleyI have been consulting industry about proposals to unify the time allotted and fees charged for heavy goods vehicle and public service vehicle driving tests. The effect would be a common test time of 90 minutes and a common fee of £40. For heavy goods vehicle tests, this is a reduction of £25. I shall shortly be inviting the House to approve regulations to make the new lower fee effective from 1 July 1986.
§ Mr. EvennettI thank my right hon. Friend for his reply. How much does he envisage the reduced fees will save the freight industry per annum?
§ Mr. RidleyThe figure is about £1 million. I shall be interested to know whether the major reduction in the fee will receive as much publicity as it would have done if it had been an increase.