§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) upon what general criteria he has been prepared to grant Department of the Environment testing licences to garages during the embargo; and in what form those criteria have been made known to garage proprietors or managers;
(2) why he is not prepared to grant an interim testing licence, in advance of the lifting of the embargo, to Mr. H. W. Egglestone of Cropston Garage, Station Road, Cropston, Leicestershire, when a licence had been in existence for that garage until September 1972 and Mr. Egglestone was in no way responsible for its withdrawal; whether he will now reconsider his decision; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CarmichaelSince the embargo was imposed new appointments as authorised examiners have generally been made only when a new owner has taken over from an existing authorised examiner or in places where the lack of testing facilities has caused public inconvenience. Every applicant has been informed of the position. The Cropston garage does not fall within either of these categories; but as I have informed the hon. Member, Mr. Egglestone will be able to apply for authorisation when my right hon. Friend reopens the list, which he hopes soon to do.
§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to be able to complete his decisions on the review of the Department of the Environment vehicle testing scheme, and lift the embargo on new authorisations; and what are the factors which have caused this matter to take so long before reaching a conclusion.
§ Mr. CarmichaelIn February my right hon. Friend circulated to the garage industry detailed proposals about changes to the MOT testing scheme and 337W asked them to reply by the end of March. Their response is now being examined, and provided no unforeseen difficulty emerges, he hopes to announce an early end to the embargo on appointments of authorised examiners.
§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment on what date the embargo was placed on garages being admitted to the Department of the Environment vehicle testing scheme; how many applications have been submitted to him since the embargo for admission to the scheme; how many have been refused; and how many have been accepted.
§ Mr. CarmichaelThe embargo on the appointment of authorised examiners was imposed on 20th September 1971. Since then, about 3,600 applications have been received, of which 18 have been accepted.