§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many spot checks under sections 8 and 9 of the Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 carried out since the introduction of the Transport Act 1980 have resulted in an absolute prohibition on a vehicle being driven on the public highway.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe information requested, available only for the period 1 April to 30 September 1981, is as follows:
Number of inspections Number of immediate prohibitions Percentage of immediate prohibitions Periodic inspections with prior notification 28, 990 1, 298 4.48 Spot check without prior notification 8, 666 695 8.02
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether the number of spot checks carried out under sections 8 and 9 of the Public Passenger Vehicle Act 1981 reflect the relative age profile of the fleet concerned.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo. Every PSV has an annual check and may, in addition, be subject to a spot check based either on random selection or on the operator's record.
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is his policy that older public service vehicles should be subject to more frequent testing under sections 8 and 9 of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeUnder new testing arrangements, which came into force at the beginning of this year, all public service vehicles will have to be tested annually, starting at one year old. This will mean that many vehicles will be tested more frequently than they were under the informal testing system based on sections 8 and 9 of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act. This is in addition to the spot checks on PSVs carried out by my Department.
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total number of examinations and spot checks carried out under sections 8 and 9 of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 in the county of Cumbria for each of the public transport operators since the Transport Act 1980 came into force.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI regret that information in respect of individual public transport operators could not204W be provided except at disproportionate expense. The overall figures for the county of Cumbria for the period 1 April 1981 to 31 December 1981 are as follows:
Periodic inspections (with prior notification) 490 Spot checks (without prior notification) 236