§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many self-financing regulatory authorities his Department has set up since 1979; what was the annual running cost of each of the self-financing regulatory authorities in each of the last three years; what is the current staffing establishment; and what it was last year and two years ago.
§ Sir John Wheeler[holding answer 16 March 1994]: While there are a number of regulatory authorities in Northern Ireland, none of them are self-financing.
However, the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency—DVTA—of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland has a regulatory function and is required to recover total costs through fees and charges. The agency was established on 1 April 1992. Running cost for 1992–93 was £5.4 million and it is estimated to be £5.8 million for 1993–94. The staffing complement at the date of its establishment was 257 and is currently 253.