§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) how many prosecutions there have been for unlawful levels of emission for goods vehicles in each of the last 15 years; [36598]
(2) how many local authority weighing stations for the checking of loading of goods vehicles are currently in operation; [36597]
(3) how many prosecutions there have been for overloading of goods vehicles in each of the last 15 years. [36596]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonI have asked the Chief Executive of the Vehicle Inspectorate Executive Agency, Mr. Ron Oliver, to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from R. J. Oliver to Mr. Barry Sheerman, dated 1 April 1998:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about the number of local authority weighbridges currently in operation and also numbers of prosecutions for overloaded goods vehicles and goods vehicles with unlawful levels of emissions in each of the last 15 years.The Vehicle Inspectorate does not hold details of local authority weighbridges currently in operation. The Public Weighbridges Directory last published in 1991, and in the process of being updated by the Local Authorities Co-ordinating Body on Food and Trading Standards (LACOTS), lists all weighbridges publicly available for use by location. It is therefore not possible to identify those owned by local authorities currently in operation except at disproportionate cost.The Inspectorate is responsible for the operation of a network of 74 weighbridges throughout the country. These are either owned by us or operated by us on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. The weighbridges are used by our staff and also by local authority Trading Standards Officers and the Police to carry out enforcement weighings. We have formal agreements to use four local authority owned weighbridges. We also use a range of other local authority weighbridges on an ad hoc basis and have agreements to use a number of weighbridges in private ownership.We are unable to supply details of overloading prosecutions over the last 15 years. The Inspectorate took over responsibility for Traffic Examiners from the Traffic Area offices in 1991 and Table 1 below details the number of prosecutions for overloading taken by us since 1993/94. Comparable figures prior to that date are not available. It should also be borne in mind that overloading prosecutions are also taken by other enforcement bodies such as the Police and Trading Standards.
Table 1 No. of overloading prosecutions 1996/97 4,422 1995/96 3,740 1994/95 3,696 1993/94 13,573 1 Figures for Scotland not available Note:
Full year figures not yet available for 1997/98.
As regards prosecutions for unlawful levels of emissions for heavy goods vehicles, it is not the Inspectorate's policy to prosecute in these cases as this provides no assurance that the fault has been rectified. Our usual practice is to issue the vehicle with a prohibition. This provides an effective sanction as in order to remove the prohibition the vehicle is required to be presented for a re-inspection once the fault has been rectified. Details of prohibitions issued to licensed operators are also passed to the Traffic Commissioners to consider whether action against an operator's licence is warranted.
528WThere have been instances in which we have prosecuted serial offenders, single extreme cases or illegal unlicensed operators who are not answerable to the Traffic Commissioners. There were 2 successful prosecutions for unlawful levels of emissions in 1995/96 and seven in 1996/97.
In cases where light goods vehicles, which fall outside of the operator licensing scheme, are prohibited (for any defect including exhaust emissions), a caution is issued and a new MOT certificate must be obtained for the vehicle before the prohibition can be lifted. This is required to be submitted to the Police for cross checking. Failure to repair (or scrap) the vehicle results in prosecution for the original offence. Almost all owners provide proof that their vehicles have been repaired following the issue of a prohibition and very few prosecutions are necessary. It is not possible to break down the figures for prosecutions to identify those relating to emissions.
Details of prohibitions issued to heavy goods vehicles at emission only spot checks are shown in Table 2 below. Data is only available from 1992/93 as prohibitions issued prior to that date cannot be linked with sufficient accuracy to the defect identified.
Table 2 No. of emission only spot checks No. of prohibitions issued 1996/97 13,687 485 1995/96 11,405 350 1994/95 12,959 450 1993/94 10,589 219 1992/93 5,706 37 Note:
Full year figures not yet available for 1997/98